DLM, Bk. 5, Ch 16

• AN: Old version, see V2 for the re-write. 

The opening remarks were nothing inspired, the moderator simply introducing the various participants in the discussion, with me being introduced as Metis, of the Powered Human Cooperation Guild without adding any additional information. Given that what little reputation I had mostly came from the Greene’s attempts to paint me a villain, I was just fine with being largely unknown. In contrast, the introduction of each of the others was quite a bit longer and allowed a glimpse on their stances regarding Powered in the past, which might inform future behaviour.

In essence, Senator Murphy had worked on the bill that had set the current standard, mandating the so-called common-sense registration of Powered. There was a certain focus on individual rights, as it established discrimination against Powered as a hate-crime but at the same time, it required Powered to be regsitered in a national database for that protection to apply. That database was supposed to hold all Powered, with some villains being involuntarily registered with their alias, and contain biographical information, along their Powerset and weaknesses.

On the other hand, Ms. Lopez wanted to expand the current registration and education for Powered, requiring them to attend specialised schools in order to properly care for their needs. Where the current common-sense registration required to be registered with a Powered’s real identity, her version would allow to register anonymously, not that I really knew how that would work alongside her plan to establish boarding-schools for Powered, similar to the way the Guild provided education for countless people all around the globe.

Finally, Brightstar was not just there as a person, but represented the American Superheroes, who held a position similar to the one held by Ms. Lopez, supporting anonymous registration but also advocating to expand the Future Superheroes into the schools proposed by Ms. Lopez. When thinking about their position, I had a vague idea that they fully supported anonymous registration for their people, but wanted to control the information contained within the database, allowing them to correlate it with other sources and pierce anonymity that way. If not for a core-directive I had given Galatea a long time ago, such correlation would be child’s play for the two of us, allowing us to get the real identity of most Powered, simply by comparing their physical characteristics and movement-patterns. There were some ways to get around that, a full-body costume like my armour for example, but most people would easily be identified that way, especially as time passed.

The introductory remarks of everyone present were quite simple, Senator Murphy positing that the system he had helped design was working and did not need to be altered while stressing the need to keep the public safe from dangerous, criminal Powered who evaded registration.

On the other hand, Ms. Lopez’ opening focused on the need to give the future Powered a chance to grow, to learn how to use their Powers in a safe and stable environment, which her proposed boarding-schools provided. Curiously, she also added a stinging remark regarding Senator Murphy’s suitability to be on stage, referencing the recent allegations against him. In addition, she condemned the Guild as a conspiratorial, un-democratic institution that should be reformed as soon as possible, using the American Superheroes’ as a reference model.

Brightstar’s remarks sounded quite similar to Ms. Lopez, at least when it came to the troubles young people who just came into their Powers had to face. Her heartfelt words, decrying an unfair world in which teenagers had not only to contend with the changes brought by puberty but also with the sudden emergence of an unexplained, sometimes dangerous Power almost managed to bring a tear to my eyes. If nothing else, she was a skilled orator, able to evoke deep emotions within those listening.

Lastly, it was my turn to give my opening remarks and in comparison to theirs, things went a bit off-track. Mostly because I prefaced my remarks with the simple reminder that I could only speak for myself, as an individual. It had been communicated to the participants beforehand that I was not speaking for the Guild, but I had a feeling that they had hoped to skate by, not specifically stating that I was speaking for the Guild and instead simply presenting things as if I were, turning fiction into reality within the eyes of the public. My opening statement destroyed that hope and I could see a flash of annoyance crossing the faces of both politicians. Maybe there was a similar flash on Brightstars face, but her mask hid enough of it to make the determination difficult.

After that disruptive statement, my remarks were quite simple, focusing on the portrayal of Powered as people. While I could accept that the public wished for safety from Powered with dangerous Powers, I stressed the need to remember the maxim of “innocent until proven guilty” and that registration essentially turned every Powered into a suspected criminal. While there was more I wanted to point out, namely the problem of enforcement, as there was no reliable way to detect Powered, outside some of the more extreme physical Power-Sets, but the opening was not  the time for that. Neither was it the time to point out that the Guild was not an American institution but supposed to represent Powered from all around the globe, making the idea that it should be held accountable by the American public a little strange.

With my initial statement done, I sat back down, letting the moderator take back over. He posed the initial question, regarding the current state of registration and the enforcement of it, which I had questioned and turned it back to the panel. That resulted in a rather heated exchange between the Senator and Brightstar, the Senator insisting that the current system that incentivised voluntary registration while penalizing those who did not register. However, even he had to admit that there was no objective way to detect Powered. There were a few who had the ability, mostly amongst psychic-Powered but there was no way to base an objective enforcement on the ability of a dozen people, all around the country.

What made me curious was that both, Brightstar and Ms. Lopez insisted that there was a better way to handle registration, though they failed to provide a model for it.

Luckily, the other three were quite content to argue amongst themselves, with me only occasionally inserting myself into their discussion, pointing out objective facts and providing statistics, not that I really cared whom my statements supported. Their discussion focused on national, American issues, which I had only superficial knowledge of and even less interest.

That tactic kept me out of things, until after a short break, Ms. Lopez brought up something from her opening statement, namely the allegations against Senator Murphy. According to her, there was a new development, with the individual naming him speaking out openly and getting into contact with the police. That was not the problem, at least not for me, but when she involved the Guild by claiming that security-measures in this venue, where the alleged assault had taken place, were our responsibility. What brought a frown to my face, though nobody could tell, was that Brightstar joined in, pushing me to the forefront by pointing out that it was part of my duties to interface with security.

I had to consider for a moment, and check in with Technica to make sure I was not acting against established Guild-protocol, when I stood for the first time since giving my opening statements. Before,I had simply remained seated and spoken without any sort of additional fanfare.

“Ms. Lopez, Brightstar, there is something you need to understand. The Guild needs to be neutral in all things, we cannot give preferential treatment to political candidates and even regarding political ideologies, we are supposed to remain neutral, forming a bridge between all Powered and all humans.” I spoke, the microphones of the others conveniently cutting out, letting my voice dominate the room.

“That includes criminals, those you call villains, no matter their nationality or crime, the Guild can take them in and judge them according to our standards. But that neutrality comes in different forms, one of them is, if we see someone acting in a dishonourable way, we remain silent and neutral. That includes Senator Murphy.” I spoke out, Ms. Murphy first displayed a momentary frown, before her look turned gleeful at my words.

“However, there is no need for us to remain silent when accused. Personally, I think the acts taken by you and your husband outweigh the dishonourable acts of Senator Murphy by an order of magnitude but maybe, we should let the public decide.” I finished my words and, the moment I finished, the video compilation regarding the whole event, alongside all documentation regarding the financial aid the Lopez’ had given was displayed on stage, while also being uploaded to the internet.

As everyone got to watch the Senator enjoying himself, I sat back down, observing the ensuing chaos.