2014.02.01 - Sorcerers and Imperators

Magneto's office is clearly a converted parlor. Despite renovations, it has maintained an air of stately decorum from a century past. It it equilateral in shape, a rough square, with a settee between the door on one corner and the huge bay window opposite. The massive north-facing bay window admits bright light into the room, if somewhat scattered by the glass' design, and Magneto's oversized desk sits right under it. On one wall is a towering built-in bookcase, filled with texts ranging from the sciences to the esoteric to the occult. The wall opposite is taken up by a large picture of Magneto rendered in a form reminiscent of the Archangel- his full battle regalia, eyes crackling with power, and a basketball-sized globe clutched in one upturned hand. It's an imposing picture, if not a little megalomanical. The settee is quite conservative, at least, and luxurious in the way only old wood and well-worn upholstery can be, with a tea service handy for up to four people to sit and talk comfortably.
And the luxurious, leather bound chair that cost more than some mortgage payments, is occupied by a certain older fellow, the one from the science lecture. And he's sitting in Erik's chair, leaned back, with his gently wrinkled hands clasped easily across his slightly growing tummy. A few too many apple pies from the bakery down the street. You know the one.
"Hello Dr. Lensherr. I thought we could have a talk, we both got a bit distracted the last time we met. Young women and thier agendas." A warm smile creases his lips. "Pull up a chair, we may be here for a while."
Magneto slows his pace, brought up short by the man. There's a flat, emotionless look in his eyes- a predatory one. There is a moment where Magneto is seriously consdering killing Dr. Fate out of hand, or at least doing so to the best of his ability.
And then in an instant that moment passes, and Magneto smiles. "Well, I thought you were something a bit more than an idle professor," Magneto says in his resonant baritone. He makes a gesture and brings a chair winging over to the front of the desk, then stands a moment.
"Would you mind?" he asks, gesturing vaguely from Dr. Fate and the chair (Magneto's chair!) that he occupies, adding a polite tilt of the head. Etiquette must be observed, and Magneto is obviously a strong believer in manners of such.
Kent Nelson grins at the statement. " A bit more, you could say that yes.." He says and shifts his gaze to the chair. He's very well aware that the man wants him to vacate the chair he is already seated in, in favor of the new one. But this one is so much more comfortable. And more importantly.. submitting to the man's demands, however politely made.. would be an error this early in the game. And it is a game.. men of alleged power like to play. demanding submission and courtesy when it benefits them and abandoning such devices when it doesn't. When you've been around for over a century.. you pick up a thing or two.
So he meets Erik's gaze easily and shakes his head slightly. "I don't mind in the slightest, please have a seat." He says, showing no indication of shifting from his current position. He motions at the new chair and folds his hands again, patiently waiting.
Magneto eyes Dr. Fate for a moment, then shrugs and closes his extended palm. It's obvious he's a trifle irritated by Fate's refusal to move. "So be it." Magneto makes a gesture and sends his chair spinning back to where it had been, then simply elevates himself six inches above the ground, easing back slightly into a comfortable semi-standing repose.
"You have the advantage of me, sir," Magneto informs Fate, maintaining those cool tones. "You seem quite aware of who I am, but I know little of you, aside from the fact you enjoy my chair." He upticks a finger against his nose, mulling his thoughts over. "Might I inquire as to how you apparated into my embassy? You certainly didn't walk in."
Kent Nelson smiles, watching Magneto 'sit'. "Oh I do, thank you for allowing me to use it. Though sitting on a cushion of air does seem a bit more comfortable. Tell me.. is it like resting on a cloud? Always wanted to try that." He asks, leaning forward and watching Mags posture for a moment.
But then his gaze hardens very slightly, above the mirth and amusement from just a moment ago. "I did walk in actually.. just not through the doors you may be used to." He says and opens a thick manila folder that... simply wasn't there a moment before. He opens it, flipping through paper and Erik may just catch a glimpse a few photos of himself, both as a young man and as Magneto, the master of magnetism, bathed in all the glory of his power.
"You are quite perceptive though sir.. I do know a lot about you.. Born Max Eisenhardt of jewish german descent.. you were roughly 19 at the start of World War 2.. and subjected to the Nazi's treament of jews during it. Tragedy... I fought in that war.. but at the time.. I was committed to aiding the United States at the time. I didn't yet have sight of the bigger picture. You have my sincerest apologies."
Magneto goes completely still, and silent. He purses his lips and carefully regulates his breathing.
"That... is a period in my past which I care not to review," Magneto says in slow, carefully steady tones. "I would... appreciate it if you did not mention it aloud. I have tried to move on from pains past and mistakes of youth. I would appreciate it if you would consider them in the past, as well." He settles himself to the ground, then walks over to a small minibar, where he pours himself a stout glass of leather-colored scotch.
"Do you drink, sirrah?" he inquires of the man as he prepares the scotch. "Twenty year old McClellan, a particular favorite of mine," he adds, holding up the crystal decanter.
"I cannot help but notice that you still have not given your name," he points out, over his shoulder. "Shall I ask it trice of you? And how you come by such... excellent intelligence on me?"
Kent Nelson watches Erik carefully. "Very well. We won't speak of it again. Apologies to have dredged up old memories, but I felt it necessary to acheive my reason for being here in the first place." He says, shaking his head at the scotch. "I'm fine thank you."
"My name is Kent Nelson.. I am.." He pauses for a breif second, thinking..." A middleman shall we say. A voice and sometimes arm.. of the powers that be. I am here because you have caught thier attention. Nothing more and nothing less. I know of you.. because they do." He says, tapping the now closed folder on it's front cover.
It's why I attended your rather excellent lecture yesterday, why I tried to discuss things with you after, but your public needed you. And it's not like we don't have time."
And in that moment, several things settle into place for Magneto. An extremely astute eye would notice the faint easing of tension from his shoulders, and a sense of command returning to his posture. Dr. Fate had him on the defensive, at least for a few moments. He sips the scotch and nods slowly, processing Kent's words.
"Well. What can I say, I find myself at my ninetieth year possessed of the virility of a young man. Someone like Heather Danielson commands my attention in a way I had long since thought I had transcended," he admits, a sly grin cracking his face.
"Water, if you like," he offers, making a vague gesture. A metal platter bears a carafe of water and a small tumbler towards the desk, hovering neatly in midair without so much as a wobble. A little cigar box is there as well. "Please do not take umbrage at any slight, for there was none intended. Where one is percieved, I apolgize," he offers. It's a /very/ antiquated way of apologizing, but there it is, nonetheless.
"To be frank, this sounds a topic much better suited for a private conversation," he states. "Though I confess, you had me somewhat startled. Very few people can sneak up on me. My aide was forever trying," he chuckles. "She never did catch on to that trick." He lifts his glass to Kent in salute, then settles into the chair opposite, crossing his legs in a relaxed posture.
"So, Mister- or is it professor?" he asks Kent. "What is it I have done that has attracted the attention of Heaven and Hell alike?"
Kent Nelson laughs aloud at that. "Nothing quite so dramatic Erik. Heaven and Hell of the Judeo-Christian definitions are not in the least concerned with you. At least so far as I'm aware. And I'm aware of a lot. They concern themselves with spirituality and the afterlife and variances of the two. No no I speak of a higher order."
"Again.. I'm fine. I ate just before I got here." He says, speaking of his last meal.. a rather excellent lobster bisque with a hearty red wine.. but that was 50 years ago. Oh well.. time is relative in his case.
"Just Kent is more than adequate. Doctor if you're feeling especially formal but you needn't use the title on my account. Tell me Erik.. what are your intentions for those born with the X-gene?"
"A higher order than Heaven? Mmm," Magneto says, eyebrows rising. "I have departed quite a way from the traditions of my people, but the idea of something exceeding the primal authority of God is... an interesting idea."
He considers Kent's question for a moment, then makes a shrugging gesture. "My intentions have always been rather transparent. I am preparing Homo Novus for a war that, by my best knowledge, is inevitable. You are familiar with evolutionary competition?" he inquires of Kent. "The concept is simple- two dominant species cannot drink from the same lake," he says. "Mutants spent the greater part of the last two centuries- maybe more- being shunned and feared, hunted and persecuted. Now there is 'feel-good' legislation to provide equal protection to mutants... but as someone who has walked a mile in the shoes of the lower-class and downtrodden in even America, I can tell you that speciesism is still at large. It seems inevitable that humanity will eventually attack Homo Novus. My goal has been to provide a safe harbor for my brothers and sisters- and any meta-human- where we can live safely and defended from humanity at large, in relative peace and isolation as distant membres of the world community."
Kent Nelson listens and absorbs.. for all his various skills.. this is what he does best. He listens to the world around him. and in this instance.. Erik 'Magnus' Lensherr has the full undivided attention of the man.. and by extension.. the god-being known as Nabu.
"Being of Jewish descent and raised in a home centered around the faith, you are intimately schooled in that sect of faith. Your God.. being the centerpoint. Omnipotent and Omnipresent." He tells the man.
"That may be used to define any one of a sizable number of beings I am intimately aware of. However.. I'm not here to debate theology with you. I represent one of the Lords of Order. It is their job to maintain the structure of reality.. everything from the hard physical form of the desk you use." He says tapping the wood. "To the corporeal form you call your body. Everything in the cosmos and beyond. They are nothing more or less than the aspect of order in everything that is. It is their eye you have caught because of your... War."
Magneto holds a hand up, forestalling Kent's assertion as if it were a physical thing. "War is too simple a word, Kent," Magneto says, smiling at the man in a friendly fashion. "I am merely a foresighted man on the defensive. I am but one mutant, despite my gifts, seeking to redress a terrible injustice that has been rendered to my brothers and sisters."
"I am a highly rational man. I have been utterly and vastly personally wronged, but I endeavour to not let that affect my intentions overmuch. I am a man of determination and calculation- of science. Rationality speaks to me and science informs me, and both of them tell me that mutants are the future evolution of Homo Sapien. And history shows that Neanderthal died out while Homo Sapien ascended, bred out of existence or killed to make room for humans. Homo Sapiens are survivors, at their core, and while I respect their ability to endure, I must also acknowledge their capacity to win at any cost."
"A process that took millennia. And the process is not entirely complete. There are.. unique exceptions to the extinction." He tells the man, leaning back in his appropriated chair and banishing Erik's file with a small gesture, the manila folder fading as it it wasn't really there to begin with.
"Your use of Homo Novus refers to an aristocratic definition, classes of people defined by physical wealth, the term 'New Man' stemming from ancient Rome. It has zero bearing on a species evolution and the classification thereof." He says mildly annoyed at phrasing.
"But largly you are correct. Neanderthals were overshadowed and largely wiped out by Homo Sapien, and in the process.. Homo Sapien itself splintered. One of those splinters.. Homo Sapien Superior.. the 'actual' classification, however inane it may sound.. is now trying to repeat the process, on an exponentially faster rate than what occured naturally. With you at the tip of the spear using politics, finanicial maneuvering, and when necessary.. overwhelming physical force to ensure your hand is felt.. That is genocide.. That is why my superiors have chosen to speak to you. To preserve the Balance that must exist for life itself to exist."
"I have written numerous treatise on the topic of nomenclature, and it is my scientific assertion that there is sufficient genetic drift- an entire chromosomal pair, added to our base code- to warrant my terminology. But, I am not the world's only authority on genetics," he concedes with a gesture. "Merely the best."
"Despite my powers and planning and my resources, I am still the king of an island with a population less than most major cities. Humanity outnumbers us by a factor of five or more, worldwide. And few mutants have gifts that lend themselves towards warfare- some of their gifts are oddly selective or simply cosmetic. Meanwhile, six billion humans cover the face of the earth, and with some brilliant minds easily bent towards our obliteration."
"We are not fighting a 'war', because war is a losing prospect," Magneto explains easily. "If my Gensohans strode down the streets of New York or London and tried to take any major city by main force, we would be wiped out in moments. Elements of the meta-human community would stop us themselves, being opposed to our views."
"I am not fighting a war because war would result in our destruction. I am preparing myself for whatever may come, whether conflict or peace. And I have hardened my home against humanity so that mutants, in their most dire hour, may have a place of refuge should the world decide that mutants pose greater threat than ally."
Kent Nelson stands from Mangeto's chair, and turns away, looking out the rather magnificent window, as though this were his office and not Erik's. "I spoke to.. or rather.. my predecessor spoke to another man who speaks as you do now. A man who saw a war with his lessers as inevitable, so he struck first and the casualties of that first strike was enough to galvanize his nation into fighting for him.. In Large part. They followed his beliefs.. because he.. like you.. possessed a certain charismatic zeal that few others did. His first military actions were political.. Financial.. and covert assassination and guerilla warfare. He was however.. limited by the technology of his time. You are not.. and what's more you have full or nearly full control over the entire electromagnetic spectrum.. literally at your fingertips.And you expect me to believe.. that you are acting purely in defence of a military action that has not happened yet? May never happen?"
"Or is it that you are merely escalating the small injustices committed to certain members of your genetic club by members of the ignorant or brainwashed members of homo sapien. Blaming the many for the actions of the few.. as it were.."
"It seems you have already reached the answer to that question, sir, and are looking to prompt some kind of revelation for me," Magneto points out, sipping his scotch diffidently. "Many have tried. A few have succeeded in persuading me to adopt a more... tolerant viewpoint." He sips his scotch, considering his words. "Whether or not I like it, Genosha /is/ a member of the world community, and if I simply turn my back entirely on the world, I run the risk of alienating mutants entirely- or of being overrun and left to our own defenses if another nation attacked us. I have come to accept that political maneuvering is preferable to isolation, for many reasons more than the ones I' have espoused."
"You raise strong points- points that support /my/ assertion," Magneto points out in that same easy, conversational tone. "I have the power to cripple the world economy. To lay waste to nations and leave them defenseless, moreso in this age of electronics and computers than I could have sixty years ago. I could proverbially salt the fields of Earth and return us to a dark age. But I have chosen not to," Magneto points out. "I have instead created an isolated island paradise for my people to retreat to, if the moment of our destruction is nigh. I am truly a man on the defensive."
"On the defensive from what?" Kent demands, turning to face Lansherr. "You claim power over the world, whether true or not it speaks of a frightened boy who has been beaten for so long that he know no other recourse. Can you truly not see that YOU are the instigator of this war you predict?" He asks, watching him.
"Consider this.. A boy is bullied in school to the point where he can't take it anymore.. he steals his dad's gun and the next day he shoots the bully to end the torment. Come to find out... the bully was trying to reclaim control over his own life due to an abusive father figure.. doing so by pushing other kids around like he himself was pushed around. Only now the kid that was bullied goes to prison or some version of it because he took anothers life.. the process hardens him.. makes him hate the world.. after all he was only protecting himself right? Years pass and the hateful boy, now a man, has a child and pushes him around to toughen him up, creating another bully in the process.. and the cycle repeats."
"You are that scared boy Max... you saw the horror and tragedy of war and it twisted you into a global bully citing 'They started it' as your reason for action. You want to avoid your presumed genocide or mutant kind.. Become the benefactor."
"Why isolate yourself on an island and create paradise for the few when you have the means to do it for the globe. They would love you for it.. and the fact that you lead a nation of mutants and probably employing that nation to acheive your goals of solving world hunger and crime and such, properly conducted.. would solve the alleged problem in a single stroke. They would start to see mutants as a force for good rather than freaks to be hated and despised because you are different. You can choose THAT future too. Rise above the boy and become a man worth becoming."
"Or the opposite occurs," Magneto points out, speaking of the metaphor. "The young boy finds empowerment in himself. He rids the world of an abuser. He is vindicated by his peers by protecting them from the bully's onslaught. He goes on to become a champion of individual rights and works as... a soldier, or a police officer, or any other modern form of the knight warrior. Violence can and often is a workable solution to problems that require immediate solutions."
"And yes, I have seen war. I have seen horror beyond all measure," Magneto says, his tone growing a bit frosty. "I remember well the ghettos of Warsaw, watching my parents being shuffled into the gas chambers at Auschwitz. I know what it is to be abused and tortured, perhaps more than all but a few people on Earth." He sips his scotch unconcernedly. "And I know that I do not want that to happen for any of my fellow mutants. I am a mutant before anything else, and I have seen all too well in other parts of the world the resurrection of segregation and xenophobia. Should I take myself to the Ukraine? Beg them to eliminate their camps? Should I buy my people's plight out from under them?"
"Your.. fellow... mutants.. You are protecting people based on the rise of recessive genes resulting in abberant abilities.. Not personality or personal ideologies.. " He says giving him a look. "Theirs, not yours.. You claim every person on the planet a member of your new wave of evolution? Lets suppose you are correct. Lets suppose that mankind.. Homo Sapien to be clear.. wants to prevent it's own extinction by wiping out the next rise of human evolution.. which you guess to be Homo superior.. before they themselves are wiped out.. That is your arguement right?"
" What of the other evolutionary offshoots? Homo Mermanus for one.. the mermen that have adapted to life beneath the waves of your world. Homo Magi? People adapted.. to the inclination and pre-disposition toward the use of magic and mystic energies. Or Homo inhumanus, Homo Aeturnus, Homo Deviare. What about Homo Sapien Supreme? All valid branches of the metaphorical tree that is Homo sapien sapien."
"Are they all to be ground under the heel of Homo sapien superior? With you wearing the boot? What right do you have to make that call? Hmm? To decide the fate of billions yet unborn. Another man thought he had that right.. Remember him? The same man who orchestrated the carnage you saw.. Mr. Adolf Hitler.. I've met him. On some levels you remind me of him. I'm asking you to simply reconsider your ideas on a bigger picture and see if it doesn't change your perspective."
"I view all metahumans as our brothers and sisters," Magneto points out to Dr. Fate. "They are all special, in unique ways, and often equally persecuted. Even aliens I accept, as a gracious host should."
"But mutants are my immediate kin, and to them I owe my allegiance. So when I say 'we' and 'us', I am referring to all the offshoots of Homo Sapien, for it is my personal and scientific opinion that we are all related to one another- that socially, if not genetically."
"What gives me the /right/, Doctor Nelson, is that I have the /will/ and the /power/," Magneto says, his voice straying back into those chilling tones that few people can listen to without a sense of foreboding. "I do not claim just the right. That is rulership by fiat, and cannot persist. I claim the ability first, and by dint of that ability, I assume the mantle of power. My people do not follow me for my power alone, or because of my authority, or because of my personality. They follow me because I have thrown myself in front of them- at the head of this 'spear' you mention- and risked life and hazard for them. That is a powerful motivator for a follower- and a stern reminder of the weight of the crown, for the heavy head that wears it. Hitler," he continues, "was powerfully charismatic and spirited, but never put himself at risk- and in fact gambled away the lives of his soldiers. His own officers tried to assassinate him to ameliorate the worst of his idiocy."
Magneto drains his scotch, watching the last drops of liquid roll across the whiskey stones as he rolls his wrist in idle circles. "As I said before, Doctor, my desire is to survive. Not to conquer or to rule the world. My vision will outlive me, and perhaps even outlive my expectations. Meanwhile, I make my people ready for the worst, and hope for the best."
Kent Nelson just shakes his head. "Hitler commanded from a secure estate buried behind hundred of miles of Nazi occupied military defenses.. A luxurious mansion with his every whim filled." He says, motioning around at the office to puncuate his point. "They tried to assassinate him when his paranoia reached a point where he put his personal safety over the lives of his countrymen. A point you have not reached.. Yet."
" What power? You can manipulate electromagnetic phenomena because of a genetic abberation. A beneficial chemical reaction in your DNA. Nothing more. The same can be said for being tall or having green eyes. I can do the same thing with a bit of copper wire and a battery."
He reminds the man of that fact, no doubt raising his ire. But he will not be swayed. "Your personal Fortunes and political offices aside.. What kind of man are you Lensherr? More importantly.. how do you want to be remembered? You may have found a way to beat back the approach of time.. be it won't last and you will die, your bones no nobler than the man beside you."
"Your legacy is what matters.. how you influence the generations to come. How will you be remembered? An abberation? A mutant who used that title to further his own gains.. a bastard and a warlord? That is what will come if you continue your path."
" Or will you resconsider.. saving and preserving the rise of mutantkind into the stars and beyond with your own actions, choosing to save humanity instead of comdemning it.. BECAUSE you are a mutant first."
"History will judge me, Doctor," Magneto says with a cooly confident smile. "Humans will revile me. Mutants may despise me. But I will die happy knowing that I have done two things: One, I have never abandoned my principles. Two, Genosha's legacy- whether a transition home for peace or a refuge in the coming war- will endure." He settles his glass on the wet bar, taking a pacing step, considering the ceiling. "I have no intentions of waging a war, save in response to an attack by humanity. I will ensure Genosha's survival to my last breath on this Earth."
"I truly believe in the future of the Genus Homo," he informs Dr. Fate. "That it resides with mutants or Homo Magi or any of the descendant races from Homo Sapien. It may turn out to be a peaceful transition. But I am ready, if it is not. I think, in the end, they will remember me as an eminently cautious, highly principled, and dangerously prepared individual, if nothing else."
Kent Nelson shakes his head, the unbelievable arrogance or the man astounding even him. And he's fought gods. Literally.. Gods.. pantheons and everything. "Cuban Missile crisis.. you were there were you not? It was very nearly world war 3 because everyone thought everyone else was going to attack. I can pretty much guarantee that if you were to lay down arms, the rest of the world.. on a global level at least.. would follow. For better or for worse you are center stage on the gobal theater, everyone watching what you are doing. What you might do."
" Perhaps it appeals to your inner diva to live like that.. but you need to consider other people. Consider the future and what will happen should anything not eminently benevolent occur.. people remember actions. People remember that Hitler was a war criminal and.. for lack of a better term.. a terrorist. Not his principles. Actions Mr. Lensherr.. Actions."
" We are approaching a precipice.. and should you act in the current manner.. I will be forced to intervene.. my superiors will be forced to intervene. I won't want that. We don't like intervening."
Magneto leans forward into Fate's personal space, hands clasped behind his back, a Cheshire smile on his face, his eyes glittering with the anticipation of violence. "In my day, the phrase was 'Stand and deliver'. But in the parlance of today's urban youth... 'bring it'," he says. He cocks his head, smiling yet at Fate, and then straightens, looking out his window like /he/ owns it.
"I think this conversation has reached its end, Doctor Nelson," Magneto observes sagaciously. "You arrived here loaded with preconceptions and a cause in pocket. This has been less a debate and more a matter of you lecturing me. Perhaps it is you who came here with a cause in mind, and considering the danger of balance /heavily/ weighted towards humanity... I think you are perhaps acting with an agenda all your own."
Kent Nelson just sighs. "Always the leap the violence.. This is why I am here Mr. Eisenhardt.. this is why I'm here.. Someone attempts to shift your perspective, or intervene on a case of mass violence and you assume a personal threat. Harkens back to the scared boy and the bully.. he perceives any attempts to reach him as hostile."
" You are correct.. I did come here with an agenda.. one pertaining to ALL of humanity.. the tree, no specific branches and that includes Homo superior as well. How many mutants do you think will die in your need to protect yourself from humans? Every war has casualties Mr. Eisenhardt.. I hope you realize that."
" I am tasked with maintaining the big picture.. on a cosmic level.. A picture you are trying to upset along the course of your own design. That realm is for entities far older and wiser than either of us Max. Please dont make me come back with anything other than a thank you for listening note and a fruitbasket. Neither of us would particularly enjoy that." He says with exhasperation and guilt in his voice.
"My name," the Imperator says, "is Magneto. And you have exhausted my patience and exceeded my graciousness as a host. When you leave by whatever door it is you entered from, do shut it behind you?" He gives Kent an arch look, then turns and simply walks out of the room, leaving Kent sitting at the desk in the Imperator's chair.
Alone.
Category:Log