Whateley Academy, Shuster Hall
November 22, Wednesday morning, 8:03 AM
They’d all heard rumors about the Thanksgiving assembly. The students who’d already attended it last year were tight-lipped, but a few dropped clues.
“Introduction to fascism.”
“No big deal, unless you have plans as a supervillain.”
“Amerika with a K.”
“Same old, same old.”
“You have the right to be strip-searched.”
So naturally, the crowd for this assembly was a bit more subdued than they’d been for any of the previous assemblies.
Unlike the first assembly, Jade knew a lot more people this time around. Her immediate circle of friends was sitting beside her. Naturally, Nikki and Toni were in the center of that block. Sara and a couple of her closer friends were in the row ahead of them. The row behind them included several of the sophomore girls and guys, and oddly, a few from other cottages. Mary and Juanita weren’t back yet, but Lily sat nearly behind her. She also recognized the black guy, Dredz, from the dance the previous week. Lily and Dredz were conversing in close whispers, but Jade seemed to catch a snatch of, “Oh, is that all?” from them.
The mutterings and whispers faded to near-inaudibility as Headmistress Carson took the stage, then died out completely as she dimmed the lights and projected the first slide.
On the screen behind her was the famous Brooklyn bridge, with both ends barricaded or smashed and a full load of commuters trapped in the middle. In the air above, a titanic battle raged. The image had become such an icon over the past decade and more that it no longer had a single, simple association. Heroism? Evil? The plight of the normal man caught up in forces beyond his control? A metaphor for the planet? All that and more.
“I hope none of you have trouble recognizing the images of the terrible events of April 1, 1991.” She clicked to another slide, showing Entropy, as he created the trap, blocking off the rush-hour traffic. “The famous ‘Fools Fight.’ While Entropy’s minions threatened civilians, Entropy finally got his face-to-face battle with his eternal nemesis.” Another famous slide clicked into place, showing the battered hero as he delivered the final blow to Entropy. “Of course, Entropy perished, along with most of his minions. As did Battery, and the First City Irregulars were never reformed as a team.” The final slide showed the craters, along with the hundreds of bleeding, weeping civilians.
“We, rather, we mutants at Whateley, tend to focus on Battery and Entropy, and what happened with the various teams. We examine the strategies and morality, we even re-run the battle in our simulators. What we often fail to appreciate is the impact that battle had on normal humanity.
“Of course, that was just one battle. There are hundreds of others, I dare say, that have had similar casualty levels. But the Fools’ Fight was unique because of the still and video images it generated, because of the live news coverage, and because it has become such an icon, particularly among groups such as Humanity First.”
That generated mutterings and mild boos throughout the crowd. Jade heard a mutter coming from Nikki’s direction, “They should have named themselves ‘Baboons First.’”
The Headmistress continued. “What many of you have not realized until now was how those events, which took place before some of you were born, will affect your lives. Mutants have always had a prominent position on the battlefield. Terrorist mutants and even mass civilian casualties have been a fact of life since the Mystic Six first fought Gasman back in 1919. But the Fools’ Fight brought mutants into a new and frightening prominence in the public eye. It was a key issue in the United States presidential campaign of 1992, and led to promises to track and monitor mutants. Initially this was restricted to foreign mutants entering American Soil, but the Frankfurt train derailment in 1993 and particularly the Indonesian tsunami in 1994 made this an international issue.”
The next slide was a publicity shot, showing the MCO’s Deputy Director Kenneth Loman, standing behind one of the MCO’s well-known “intervention squads” – overhead was the distinctive powder-blue dropship that also served as a mobile command center, while crouched in front of him were a half-dozen troops in powder-blue power armor, as well as the medics and observers that had such a welcome reputation with the non-mutant public.
“Most of that armor comes from Darpa research,” Nikki whispered. “My dad worked on it for a while.”
Someone, Jade thought it was Chou, shushed the elf girl.
Headmistress Carson continued. “Despite the superb reputation of many heroic mutants such as Champion, the events of the nineties changed the world. The public was left with a renewed fear of rogue mutants. This combined politically with a growing international need for mutant supervision. It culminated more than a decade ago, in 1995, when the various national bodies ceded authority to the MCO, which incidentally stands for Mutant Commission Office, not Mutant Control, as so many of you have dubbed them. In late 1996, it was made an international law that mutants must report themselves when crossing national boundaries. Identification records became standardized, and the process has continued to evolve until the present day.”
There were mutterings among all the freshmen, as they began to figure out the implications. The upperclassmen, who’d all heard this before, watched with grim satisfaction as their younger counterparts lost a bit of their innocence.
“Traditionally this talk is given shortly before the Thanksgiving holiday. When you came to Whateley, you fell under a carefully crafted exemption. But with the long holiday weekend ahead of us and the winter break approaching, many of you will be traveling by plane as you go home, or visit other destinations.” Her voice turned suddenly grim. “Let me be clear about this. US law is rock-solid on this point: Any mutant must carry and present their identity card before boarding any commercial aircraft. The Mutant ID card, or MID, must also be presented at any border crossing or customs station. It’s something of a convenience, actually, since it’s better than a passport, and will get you expedited processing.”
“Yeah,” Toni muttered darkly, “no point in having an underground railroad, when the slave states are everywhere.”
In a lighter tone, Carson added, “Of course, Whateley maintains an aggressively neutral stance toward certain elements of social order.” She paused, not getting the reaction she’d expected. “We coddle lawbreakers,” she explained. The students all laughed at that, although Jade suddenly noticed Adam Ironknife, in a back row far to her left. He didn’t seem to find the situation at all humorous.
“I even sympathize with a bit of that,” Carson admitted. “While I have no tolerance for killers or terrorists, society sometimes needs its rebels and iconoclasts. I am sure that more than a few of you will be tempted to travel without a MID. First, let me say that everyone who intends to stay at Whateley will be issued a MID. That means that we will measure and record all your biometric parameters, staff members will negotiate with you to determine an official summary for your powers and abilities, we will condense certain other records, and obtain official clearances with both your own national governments and the MCO.”
Behind her, the screen switched into a live display, illustrating a wealth of measurements. The headmistress herself was shown, along with displays of fingerprints, retinal prints, DNA identifiers, Kirilian signature, height, weight, age, bone structure, medical statistics, and a wealth of other data. Just before the display changed, Jade noticed the “age” entry. Seventy-five years old? That can’t be right!
“None of this has been done yet! The process begins this week, prioritized for those of you who will need to travel over the Thanksgiving weekend. It is voluntary, but if you refuse, you will not be returning to Whateley.” She held up her hand to forestall the murmurs. “I understand your reluctance, but this is not a negotiable point. That’s why we’re telling you now, to give you a chance to think this over. Even if you plan an eventual career in world domination, I think the education you will get at Whateley will more than compensate for the downside of having a public record.
She gave an ironic smile. “After saying all that I have to tell you, having a MID is not the same thing as using it. Some of you will always stand out. Changes due to your mutation will make it difficult or impossible to pass as one of the ordinary rabble. For you, a MID will often be a godsend. It is literally your passport to interact with mundane society. Others, however, can pass as normal if they choose. They could board a plane without showing their MID. Of course, you’d need falsified ID documents, since the airline computers always cross-check with the MCO. And often, they’ll take biometric scans and cross-check those with the MCO. And it’s a felony in the US to board a plane or cross a border without showing your MID – you’d be looking at six months for a first offense, more once you reach your majority. Any situation of ‘covert mutant activity’ is immediately relayed to the MCO, and you may be looking at a dropship on your head with no warning at all.”
The Headmistress spread her hands, as if in apology. “So, you have a lot to think about over the break. The first Thanksgiving at Whateley represents a significant rite of passage for every student. You have many options. You can drop out, hide from the MCO and the world, and keep a low profile. This won’t protect you from the legal consequences – every one of you in this auditorium are legally required to carry a MID, whether you stay at Whateley or lay low. If you’re spotted, you’ll still have to comply. But you may choose to hide.
“You can follow the straight and narrow path. In which case your MID will evolve into much more than just an ID and passport. As your record of good activities grows, the MID will grant a variety of privileges – sky Marshall authority on even international plane flights, expedited border and custom privileges, connections with Interpol and other police organizations, and discounts at many restaurants and clothing outlets.” There were laughs at that last.
“Finally, if you chose a life on the other side of the law, your MID will become the first entry in your case history. This is why supervillains are so quickly tied to a codename – it’s the quickest reference to their MID file. Don’t worry about that part too much, your first codename is only temporary; you have until spring to finalize that. After that, it becomes a paperwork nightmare to change your codename. As an example, the villain ‘Wrecking Ball’ changed his name twelve years ago, and he’s still being referenced under ‘Power Pork.’”
As the lights came up, the headmistress stepped away from the podium. “That’s all. You’ll all find information in your mailboxes, and counselors will be available to answer questions. You have a lot to think over. I know these are big decisions, but I hope to see all of you back here, following the break.”
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