Tales of the Parodyverse

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Visionary
Sun Nov 06, 2005 at 12:53:26 pm EST
Subject
Driving Conditions
Originally
Won't they be dissecting you under article 17a?
In Reply To

HH
Sun Nov 06, 2005 at 06:47:01 am EST
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“Well…” Fleabot noted with a sigh as the rain poured down the windows of the Pinto of Doom, “Did Ms. DuBois seem a little brittle about you seeking her advice about SR 1066, or was it just me?”

Visionary frowned slightly behind the wheel of his car. “It’s not surprising that the Mutate Rights movement might be a bit resentful that the rest of the Metahuman population wasn’t too worried about these issues until it was our own butts on the line” he observed. “And they’re not wrong… I’ve only just started attending rallies and such in the last few months myself…”

“…Ever since you started rolling around in the hay with a mutate rights activist, yes” the tiny robot noted. “Okay, I can see why there might be some bitterness there. But do you think Pricilla doubts your sincerity?”

Visionary stared ahead at the road sadly. “I… would hope not. Not my sincerity. Though, if nothing else, I think she has little doubt as to my cluelessness, which might mitigate things in her mind. That before I met her, I wasn’t aware enough about how bad things might really be. Then again, as Lisa is so fond of pointing out, ignorance is no defense.”

“Hmmm” Fleabot responded noncommittally. “Well, things could be worse for the Mutate community in the political battle… At least they get to vote.”

“The Robosapiens” Visionary noted with concern. “This is going to far out-trump the citizenship debate, isn’t it?”

“The artificial community had absolutely no say in electing any of the officials that will be voting on this matter, and no voice in swaying opinion leading up to that vote. We already know from what Hallie and H-9 have gleamed that the administration was very close to coming out against the existence of artificial life entirely at the prompting of the religious conservative base. Defending them is a political hot potato… you anger a significant number of the population, while scoring points with people who can’t possibly help you get reelected. And much of the rest of the country shrugs, not knowing where they should stand” the tiny robot noted darkly. “If this Resolution passes, synthetics won’t just be tagged and watched… you can bet that steps will be taken to make the entire question disappear… And it won’t even be a blip on the media’s attention next to what’s happening with the heroes and the mutates.”

Visionary swallowed to chase away the dryness in his mouth. “Surely they couldn’t ignore such a thing…” he argued, though his voice betrayed a lack of conviction to the belief.

“Who’s the face of the synthetic movement? Ultizon?” Fleabot argued. “Hel Rotwang? Ulz Hagan? The only ones that ever make it on the news are the ones ranting about the end of humanity or how artificials are ultimately going to surpass humanity by untold amounts. Plenty of synthetic boogeymen to go around. Name one artificial hero that has ever registered on the public consciousness… One person sympathetic enough to give the average Joe qualms when imagining them being chained up and taken away.”

“People know Hallie…” Visionary argued hopefully. “Some people, anyway…”

“Metaphiles, mostly…” Fleabot countered. “People who are obsessed with the lives of superheroes. And even to them, she’s little more than the Lair’s receptionist. Hell, more people can name who’s Secretary of Agriculture than who’s on the LL staff. Mindy’s death was buried deep in the post-Hellraisers papers. Until recently, even full member Yuki Shiro was barely known as “the new member”, but she’s about to become much more famous with the legal case coming up. Of course, that will mostly be her, Al and Lisa arguing to put as much distance between her and the robot community as possible in the minds of the jury.” He sighed. “The public has no artificial heroes to look up to. At best, they see us as acceptable servants for their real heroes. Even Hallie’s relationship with Mr. Epitome is just gossip… He doesn’t even remember it himself. The closest thing we have to a public champion is you… and not only is your catchphrase “I’m real, dammit”, but you’re coming down from a smear campaign which left you with a public image on par with Michael Jackson’s, only without the loyal fanbase and far fewer grammys.” The miniature robot shot his friend a sympathetic look. “Er… no offense. At least you still have a nose.”

“Always a silver lining” Visionary sighed. “I wish Cheryl was here” he said thickly. “She’d know what to do… She always was the diplomatic one.” He looked through the rain-soaked windshield grimly. “We can’t let things go that bad… go that far. We have two months to keep things from getting so ugly. So what do we do?”

“Muzzle Dream and Tricky” Fleabot suggested. “Something sturdy, ‘cause they’ll just chew through leather. Pricilla’s right… the press is going to be all over every Legionnaire, asking if they’ll comply with the Resolution should it become the law of the land. You don’t have the luxury of waiting to see what happens… You need your answers, and you need them now. Because how each and every one of you answer that question is going to sway public opinion one way or the other.”

Visionary nodded. “And what she said about how the opposition will frame the argument? That real heroes are the ones that will sacrifice to protect society at large? That the rest are just out for our own best interests?”

Fleabot looked grim. “The Legion gets a lot of applause for all of the bullets they’ve stepped in front of to protect society. There’s no telling how much of that evaporates the moment they’re asked to do so again and say “no”.”

The Regular scowled. “Then we need to know what’s driving this whole thing, so we can show people where the real bullet is coming from. Until then, we just seem to be diving for cover.”

“And the opposition scores political points for the resolution.”

“So how do we answer the press?”

Fleabot shrugged and shook his head. “Diplomatically.”

Visionary pondered that in sad silence before a bittersweet smile crossed his face, imagining a soft familiar voice asking if they even made Teflon muzzles. He thought of his friends, and his family. Of responsibilities, desires and rights. The downpour of rain increased, and the Regular found himself relying on the lights of the car in front of him to keep him from veering off the road entirely. It required a certain amount of faith. “They’re going to ask me another question” he stated matter of factly.

“I know” Fleabot admitted.

“About how I’d register myself.”

“I know.”

He didn’t have anything more to add, and the two friends drove on in silence as Visionary concentrated on navigating the hazardous road ahead.







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