And the weeks continued, the school year of Fraje and Nellie, Alanna's work and Anne's bad mood filling all the family's concerns on a day-to-day basis. To the comfort of the family, Anne's bad mood wasnt something alien, all the neohumans whose teeth were showing showed such extreme changes in behavior.
A calm environment where all problems were solved as a family or wearing kitchen gloves when handling Anne. Life was simple and happy in Brightside.
Of course, this atmosphere of relative tranquility wasnt going to last long, And it was the first week of October when the problems really started for Brightside.
20 days were more than enough to split a city in half.
It all started with a special netflix program about Handshake and the NEPF. Interviews with General Black, Addams and the Mayor of Brightside; a guided tour of the Handshake facilities. anonymous interviews with different members of the community and for the grand finale of the program, a double interview with the president and vice president of Bright Side Industries to talk about the needs of neohumans.
The reception was incredible, the popularity of Alanna growing more and more as Declan had foreseen and the support received served as another reason for Handshake to have to warm theirs heads to understand more about the neohumans and continue to invest all the money they were receiving, more than Addams had ever expected. And of course the support didnt come alone, when something arouses great support and solidarity, there are always dissenting voices, sometimes for other reasons and sometimes without reason.
The attacks on neohumans in different social networks and televisions went from being something punctual to becoming the international talk again, greatly expanding the problem when the progrma was released on YouTube. The messages served so much for people who craved something to hate to hate, spreading quickly through social networks. What hitherto only affected Alanna and her family now affected all Handshake members and neohuman families.
All this atmosphere of tension was also beginning to affect the situation inside the dome, it was attracting too much attention for the government's taste. As it was, the inhabitants of Brightside were divided among those who were joining the crowd to hate the neohumans (even being infected with the NEPF) and the rest, the riots becoming common among the few but noisy and aggressive Anti-EF as They called themselves.
First was the blockade of the main avenue of the city, something that was resolved after bringing a crane and 5 arrests.
Then it was an attempt to protest in the three parks of the city at the same time, scattering themselves after a serious arrest for threatening a mother her neo-human son with a knife. The Anti-EF platform made sure to make clear to all the media that came to ask them about the facts that did not approve any direct attack, their protests were focused on having to live locked up with the neohumans despite not wanting to relate or have anything to See with them.
Once a wise man said:
"Give voice to those who dont want to accept and will attract those who dont know how to think"
At the same time that the Anti-EF platform appeared on television those who craved something to hate got what they needed most, a face to support. Overnight, the Anti-EF platform began to appear more and more on television, supported by more and more twisted groups each time.
With the speech that their rights were being violated by being held under the dome although the NEPF wasnt infectious backed by Handshake and government scientists; their complaints began to become more and more heard. Only one spark needed to jump to make Anti-EF dreams come true.And that spark came on October 8.
In a completely literal sense.
During the early hours of October 8, the fire at one of the Brightside center housing block was declared, next to the Crystal cove gardens. Firefighters arrived 7 minutes after the first call, and thanks to a rapid citizen collaboration the fire went out without regretting deaths and with a single serious burn injury.
What would have been a simple incident due to bad function became the perfect excuse for Anti-EF, after the anonymous leak of a Handshake member that a neo-human living with pyrokinesis NEsPer skills lived in the building.
It didn't matter what Handshake or Brightside's emergency team did to attribute the incident to a power failure, for Anti-EF and all their supporters that girl (which Anti-EF's own asked not to reveal their identity) was the guilty absolute, giving voice to their fears and terrors and forcing the authorities to intervene.
The decision was hard, and it went through many hands until he reached the president himself. The neohuman challenge took a much more literal new form when the voices of the Anti-EF managed to make it understood (based on false accusations) that the danger was much more real than it has been until now. Finally, on October 17, the California executive received notice from the government to execute the UNRAVEL countermeasure.
All the inhabitants of Brightside were asked personally, one by one and without forgetting anyone. All those who feared for their lives and didnt want to participate in any way with Handshake were given the possibility of leaving the city as long as they were permanently locating and not leaving the state.
By October 19, Brightside had lost 47% of its population.
Brightside City Hall, October 20, 2019. 09:15 in the morning
Toc, Toc, Toc, Toc...-
The continuous trampling of Mayor Thomas Bishop and his whispers between his teeth dominated the huge desk. The tension was evident, and the temperature drop scheduled for that week did not help cool the mood.
6 people had been called by the mayor to the council table that morning: Declan and Alanna Barlow as representatives of Bright Side Industries and major investors in the city's stores; William Black as commanding general of the dome and contact with the armed forces; Kaylen Jackson and Cascadio Black as seconds in command of Handshake's education and cultural divisions and of course Addams as the leader of Handshake... if only he had appeared
"Melissa, has Addams sent a message or something?" Thomas murmured, turning his coffee around, paying more attention to the hands of the clock than to his own secretary. “How dare he to be late on an occasion like this? We are risking our necks! I cant go down in history as the mayor who lost half of his population!”
None of the attendees wanted to continue the conversation with the mayor, preferring each one to remain involved in their own personal issues. "Black, Cascadio ... don't you have your brother's personal number? Can you either tell him to hurry up?!”
Black sighed taking out his phone and showing the screen to the mayor. “I have already tried, but something must have happened at the headquarters of Handshake, something really serious if if he has not even checked the messages on his phone. I don't like to be the one to propose this but we should start the meeting without him; I know my brother well and I know he won't care”
"Besides ..." Cascadio shrugged without getting his hands out of his jacket pockets, still typing on his own phone. “Now that I have an important position with my good friend Guile, I think we can take charge of Handshake in good place! Right Guile?” Jackson smiled without wanting to say anything for fear of not holding his tongue, just pouring himself another cup of coffee. "We must start the meeting without a doubt, we cant wait for our personal Days of the future past to come true"
Thomas nodded slowly, opening his notebook and rereading the grim first page. “Well gentlemen and lady… the situation doesnt look good for us. I dont know what is that of Days of the future past, but ast night, Black can confirm it, I got the new deal that the government offers us-”
"They will allow us to preserve the dome to be able to create a suitable climate for the needs of the little ones and the extra lands under the dome to be able to modify them and build them at pleasure-" William interrupted, standing completely firm, with his hands clasped on his back. "But they ask us in return to notify any kind of dangerous ability and keep them under constant surveillance"
"Simply amazing! We are so close, so close to starting our own superhero franchise ... We have the background literally already done thanks to our ineffable government!" Cascadio jumped directly clapping. “This is our own Mutant / Superhuman Registration Act! We have passed directly to the end of the civil war without even going through all the plot! How could it happen? How can Anti-EF have won our civil civil war without even us having done anything?”
"Advertising campaign supported by radical and conservative groups, simple and simple" Declan nodded slowly, grabbing his niece's knee to try to contain her. “They have been lucky to rely on an accident, they have managed to capture the attention of super noisy groups and from there they have built a whole argument always staying away from the arguments of their main support so as not to be accused of radicals.
Those who support us do so from solidarity and understanding… And I'm so sorry to have to be the one to say it, solidarity and understanding makes less noise than rights and a supposed threat to national security” Declan's words were much more real than others liked to admit. , all eyes fixed on the huge woman crossed arms and with her eyes closed. "Honestly and although I hate to bring up the subject, I am much more concerned about abandoned neohuman children ...
"And again Declan's words were again keys for the group, forcing everyone to remain silent. Thomas sighed, turning pages in his blog, reaching Declan's terrible point. “The government doesnt want to force any parent to raise a child who has a Skill NEsPer categorized as dangerous, so they has granted them to expressly give them for adoption.
In what world do we live that I have to say this? My god... how categorized as dangerous depends on the point of view of those buds, now we find 34 babies abandoned by their parents ... 78 parents who have turned their backs completely to their children... Don't take it badly, but I never thought that during my tenure I would have to open an orphanage”
“Why is this happening to us? How can there be people who abandon their children just like that?! ”Jackson growled, leaning back in his chair. "Dammit! My squad did not abandon anyone when they cornered us in Vietnam!! How can the link between a father and his son be more fragile than that?! The good side is that there are already many people willing to adopt them, but that doesnt mean that their own blood is so afraid of them as to flee”
"It's human nature, Sergeant Guile ..." Removing his coffee, Cascadio dropped forward to finally attend the meeting seriously. “Fear what goes beyond your limits until what you fear saves your life. When those children mark the new future, their biological parents will see how wrong they were!”
"How can you be so sure, Cascadio?" Declan asked quietly, not understanding where he was getting so much optimism. “And please, dont give me an answer based on one of your comics. I hate that you send me your scripts after every minimal change you make ... ”
Drowning a laugh, Cascadio rose slowly walking around the table. “Bright Side Industries gave me the money to set up our film producer, so my honor prevents me from taking any steps without our benefactor knowing. And if you want to know why I'm so sure, it's because I'm a dreamer, boss!” Without saying anything, Alanna got up leaving for the first time the position she had taken since she had arrived an hour earlier. Slowly, the huge 6 feet 10 inch (2 meters 8) vice president walked up to join Cascadio, both looking through the slits in the curtain that covered the main window.
"We have a good hand, the deck smile to us tonight! Now we just have to wait for the moment and wait for our miracle, which if I'm not mistaken, will come soon" Cascadio smiled, leaning on Alanna. “They may only be fantasy, but dozens of authors have already reflected on paper, drawing or animation the problem we face. Learn from history even if it is fictional”
"And ..." Thomas rubbed the back of his neck, wiping the sweat of his already extremely bright bald head. "I'm not very put in all that you're talking about ... hell, I think the last comic I read was Asterix and Obelix ... but what should we learn?"
“That times change. We are here to stay ...-” Alanna practically roared, turning towards the others at the table, beating it with both hands with such force that the huge meeting table was tilted until when the vice president withdrew her hands.“They cannot remove the NEPF as if it were a tumor, not without getting the entire planet to go against them. This dome must become more than a dome… it must become our strength against adversity. A home for the neohumans, for all those who look beyond their own learn! A sanctuary for science, technology, progress! A home for all those who wish for it!”
No one wanted to say anything else, the attention of everyone present, looking over Alanna's eyes. Bright eyes between turquoise and dark blue, eyes dyed with the dusk.
____
.....
And first came the dusk, and with it the sky was filled with stars.
Each shining with the intensity of ten thousand worlds, each full of hope. Unfortunately the stars were too bright, so much that they attracted clouds that completely covered them, obscuring land and sea alike.
And under the dark mantle a single light rose above those who cried heartily.
A warm and dark light, a light that doesnt distinguish between good and evil, a light that inspired to follow it wherever it was ... Will that light be a sweeping light that has no mercy on those who want to turn it off? Will it be a protective light that will serve as a pillar on which to build something much larger, something that they may not be able to understand?
......
_______
"... Damn Gyeseung ... I don't know how you expect me to understand these messages!" Addams growled parking in front of the huge house of the Barlow Holm family, looking at the phone in his hands that Cascadio had give him that morning, a phone without any information as Professor Gyeseung had asked. As the director had planned, Velio Barlow's assistant car parked in front of the garage. "...Dammit…"
(09:15 in the morning)
Addams hated having to act like a slum criminal, but the situation was certainly necessary. Without wanting to attract more glances than necessary, the director got out of his car and undertook a race to the main entrance, using the Master Key that the marriage had given him with complete confidence to enter the house.
The television was playing in the background, accompanied by Velio's quiet snoring from the main sofa. As Addams had found out beforehand, the family's grandfather was going to watch over little Anne while Fraje and Nellie were in high school and Erika was arguing with her father about the possibility of leaving the city. The director could swear to hear the cries of the furious Amazon from the same hall, not wanting to imagine how threatening would be someone the size of Erika angry.
Without making any more noise than necessary, Addams deactivate the surveillance cameras with its MasterKey temporarily, going up the elevator to Erika and Alanna's bedroom.
There was Anne sleeping peacefully in her crib, drooling and nibbling on her pillow in dreams. The baby's first 4 teeth had been especially hard, but the fangs were being somewhat softer judging the less aggressive attitude of the baby. "Please, Anne ..." Addams whispered bringing the crib to her mothers' bed and sitting on the edge. "Forgive me for this... but I need to succeed with this"
Without saying anything else, Addams slowly took the index finger of the baby's right hand, placing it on the glucometer-like device. Holding his breath for a few seconds, Addams ended up closing his eyes while pressing the button, a small needle sticking into Anne's finger and drawing a drop of blood.
The baby stirred annoyingly in her crib, threatening to wake up. Withdrawing the device quickly, Addams took her in his arms ignoring the difficulty of the act, slowly waving the baby up and down to keep her asleep as many years ago the director did with his own son.
Waiting in silence until Anne fell asleep deeply again, the director stood up staring at his phone until it began to ring. Counting up to 5 as the message said, Addams pick up the call. "That's ..." The voice on the other side of the phone whispered through a voice changer. “My original NEP… congratulations Addams, you are a great scientist”
“Don't thank me, Professor Gyeseung… I only joined the points you gave me and used the simplest logic. May I ask why you dont speak to me directly? I think it's weird to use a modulator when I know it's you.”
"Jojojojo ... I trust you, Addams, but now that you have confirmed to me that my Reality King is safe and so healthy... I only think that an invisible call with a voice modulator is the safe option. Dont get me wrong, I thank you, but this is all there is for now. Where will our relationship go if we get too far ahead?"
"Then the next time we only have to see each other in person, right?"
"Nice try, Addams ..." Several applause rang through the modulator, producing a sound so intense and annoying that Anne began to stir again. "Nice try. You have before the most powerful being that has ever existed, how do you feel? How does it feel to see in person the most dangerous predator that has ever seen the face of this planet?”
"Sincerely?" Addams whispered stroking Anne's forehead, smiling as she watched her baby resume her dream, beginning to nibble on the shirt collar. “I am unable to see her as anything more than the adorable and heavy baby she is… is her size normal? Is it something from the NEP?”
“I don't think so. Yes, my tests with the NEP achieved slightly larger than average species… but nothing so exaggerated. I would need you to send her to me for-”
"Don't even dream it, professor"
"I had to try it. As I was saying, if the Reality King is so big it must be for an exceptional combination of genes amplified by the NEP. Although it is also possible that its size is a way that nature uses to contain such gigantic power ... in which case, with all the power I have given to my Reality King, I am looking forward to seeing her use the dome as a breakfast bowl!”
"And her mothers and now brother and sister?" Addams tried to change the subject quickly, terrified by the idea alone that Anne reached such extremes
“Jojojojo! Addams, my colleague! That is the work of the Reality King!” More applause forced Addams himself to lower the volume of the conversation. "If her family is growing up with her, it is because the Reality King has made it possible ... and dont ask me why or how, she is a baby. I have no idea that she can think of it" The answer didnt like nothing to Addams, who simply kept cradling Anne in silence.
“Since you arent asking any more questions, I will assume that you want to finally talk about my part of the deal”
“I've helped you confirm who exactly your 'Reality King’ is, as much as I hate to call her with that name. Now help me back, professor. Give me what I need to be able to protect these children and prevent them from ending up classifying them as monsters.”
“A noble dream, I wonder if it will take you on the right track or not…-”
"Professor!"
"Okay okay ... Do you want to protect them? Very simple, very simple! Wake up my Reality King, it is time for you to see the true form of power, the authentic face of the one who, for better or worse, will change this world! Jojojo! I cant wait!”
Addams wasnt proud of anything he was doing, but the director could not afford to stop. Not when so many children and even Anne herself would benefit from this. Shaking her slowly, Addams circled the baby's back until she woke her up. "Ammammama ..." Anne groaned annoyed to leave the dream, staring at who was holding her. "Ata ..."
"Uncle Addams, Uncle Addams ..." Addams repeated trying to correct the baby without any hope that she would learn her name correctly. "Well, professor... she's already awake"
“Excellent. Now please, don't say anything or do anything. I need a few seconds to triangulate your position. Don't move ... don't move ... perfect! Addams, I want this thing that I am going to reveal to you to take it as a direct threat, please”
"I don't know how you could even try, but how do you do something to this girl, professor ... I swear I'm going to remove earth and sky until I find you"
“Jojojo! Brave threat, no doubt! But you don't have to worry, I don't need to do anything directly, as long as I can use my machinery here! Behold the work of one who defies God and will make his golden cities tremble!” Addams decided not to say anything else, fiddling with Anne quietly ... or at least until the girl's eyes began to glow with an increasingly intense dark blue, darkening to almost being black.
"Professor ..." Addams murmured extremely frightened, only contained by the baby's quiet giggles.
"You should notify the rest of the family altered by the will of my Reality King that the activation of phase 1 can also occur in them physically! The expected side effects are: Change of pupils imitating those stained by the night of my Reality King, slight mood swings caused by a momentary release of hormones, an improvement of their physical capacities equivalent to 15% of the physical abilities of my Reality King, blocked by her own security until Phase 2... and finally ... Wait, this last one I keep it. I want it to be a surprise"
"PHASE1?! Side effects?! What are you talking about!? I dont know what you are talking about, but Erika is already touching the physical limits of the human body! If she becomes stronger we are already talking about superhero level no matter how ridiculous that sounds! Gyeseung, that huge Amazon is lifting almost 400 pounds Without even trying or sweating!"
“Addams, Addams… Addams! Are you afraid? You didn't want to protect your children? Then let me do this for you! Please, Addams, put on the speaker, I need my Reality King to hear me clearly. It sounds weird, but one of the things that I developed in my NEP was a small system that recognizes very specific vocal commands, both words and voice. All my experiments are able to recognize them, and I am sure that my dear Reality King too”
Addams hesitated a few seconds, unconsciously activating the speaker without realizing it. (Or so he meant himself)
"Oh my little ... the whole sky belongs to you, you know?" Anne kept completely frozen, scared of the unknown voice that was ringing on the phone. “You were born of love, and that love will be your test and my reward… work your miracle, my little one, make this world meet its greatest enemy for the first time:
그들의 마음을 들여다 보아라. 당신을 귀한 작은 것들로, 괴물로 분류하도록 이끌고 자하는 아이디어를 파괴하라.나라 전역에 이것을 넓혀서 무의식적으로 두려워하게 만들지 만 폭력적인 충동으로 그들을 이끌기에는 충분하지 않습니다. 가능하게하십시오, My Twilight.
(Look into their hearts and destroy the ideas that want to lead you to classify you, my dear little ones, as monsters.Extend this throughout the country, make them unknowingly fear you, but not enough to lead them to a violent impulse. Make it possible, My Twilight.)”
Gyeseung's words had a strange effect on Anne, causing the brightness of her eyes to blink intermittently a few seconds before beginning to shrink. “Its... its over? What have you done, professor?!”
“How many miles from here is the capital, Addams? I suppose that now that 19 seconds have passed the reality distortion will have arrived! It may not look directly, but my part of the deal has been successful” Gyeseung began to laugh alone, puzzling even more if possible. "Dear Addams, it has been a pleasure this deal with you-"
“Dont dare to hang me, professor! Tell me what you have done?!”
"I? Do? Addams, please ... Attribute the merit to those who really deserve it. Be sure to buy a good birthday gift from her, please. Today's results are absolutely incredible. Good morning, Addams and my sweet Reality King”
Without saying anything else, not even saying goodbye, Gyeseung hung up the call. Addams hurried into the call log, finding that the call had been completely deleted. "Damn it ..." Addams muttered to himself, staring at the entertaining baby, checking how far she could lick her face with the tongue. "Hey little one... you're really dangerous, right?" Addams asked quietly, not knowing if what just happened was correct.
"Amammamma!" Anne shouted smiling, saliva falling from the corner of her mouth to Addams shirt.
"I thought so ... we have to show that old man how wrong he is, okay? I just hope you dont get to remember this"