Our convoy has arrived at its destination. I am getting wierd vibes. Wizards and their escorts have visually distinct equipment and clothing, escorts and wizards quite similar but not identical. People in the security services, who surround us in a base, know who or rather what we are.
P: Something is wrong
T: I am getting vibes of fear and revulsion.
U: Can you sense what we are feeling?
Thomas delivers a preliminary answer by hesitation.
T: I am getting kind of trepidation from you.
Silence. Should we lie to them? No, you cannot do that.
--
? The federal government has again affirmed that they expect the crisis to end within a month
? On the Indonesian island of Sulawesi the dead are rising.
? Following immediately a catastrophic intrusion zone hitting the metropolis of Makassar
? resolved by a broad international effort under the leadership of the Australian
? superhero Jason Asano another catastrophe has befallen that nation
? governments around the world and the GDN have refused to confirm that monsters
? have caused this calamity
? the federal government has called claims by the opposition that wizards are turning
? the dead into a weapon to frighten the people into accepting wizard overlordship
? ludicrous and baseless, bordering on outright insanity
T: And so it begins
U: Has a wizard done this?
T: How am I supposed to know? I have no powers in that regard. Somebody else may have.
D: Do you think a government has done this?
P: What for? With all due respect for Sulawesi, it is not worth crossing that border.
U: Are you thinking that this is an … accident?
P: Actually yes. Whoever did this will now be hunted. You’d have to be stupid to risk that for a weapons test.
T: We will be associated with this anyway.
D: That is likely.
T: I mean as a group. And we will need to react.
P: We have all seen X-Men. I like Magneto.
U: So I thought.
P: What do you mean by that?
D: You are predictable
P: Great minds think alike. Therefore they are predictable.
D. That was predictable.
T: People, seriously. People have a good reason to wish to control us. And we have a logical reason to avoid that.
P: But you cannot look at somebody and tell that they are a wizard.
D: Rademacher did look kind of strange.
U: He looked oldfashioned.
P: Not just that. Did you notice that he had absolutely clear skin?
D: You are disturbingly good at remembering physical details of men.
U: Darling!
T: So you can confirm it?
D: I repeat myself virtually.
P: Do you want me to probe you again?
Dejan is ostentatiously looking at the ceiliing
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 23.4912%">Name:</td>
<td style="width: 23.4912%">Thomas Miller</td>
<td style="width: 19.5915%"> </td>
<td style="width: 25.0696%"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 23.4912%">Race:</td>
<td style="width: 23.4912%">
Human
</td>
<td style="width: 19.5915%"> </td>
<td style="width: 25.0696%"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 23.4912%">Current rank:</td>
<td style="width: 23.4912%">Iron</td>
<td style="width: 19.5915%"> </td>
<td style="width: 25.0696%"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 23.4912%">Progress to bronze rank:</td>
<td style="width: 23.4912%">0%</td>
<td style="width: 19.5915%"> </td>
<td style="width: 25.0696%"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 23.4912%"> </td>
<td style="width: 23.4912%"> </td>
<td style="width: 19.5915%"> </td>
<td style="width: 25.0696%"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 23.4912%">Attribute</td>
<td style="width: 23.4912%"> </td>
<td style="width: 19.5915%"> </td>
<td style="width: 25.0696%"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 23.4912%">Power:</td>
<td style="width: 23.4912%">Gun</td>
<td style="width: 19.5915%">Iron 0</td>
<td style="width: 25.0696%"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 23.4912%">Speed:</td>
<td style="width: 23.4912%">Onslaught</td>
<td style="width: 19.5915%">Iron 0</td>
<td style="width: 25.0696%"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 23.4912%">Spirit:</td>
<td style="width: 23.4912%">Coral</td>
<td style="width: 19.5915%">Iron 0</td>
<td style="width: 25.0696%"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 23.4912%">Recovery:</td>
<td style="width: 23.4912%">Shield</td>
<td style="width: 19.5915%">Iron 0</td>
<td style="width: 25.0696%"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 23.4912%"> </td>
<td style="width: 23.4912%"> </td>
<td style="width: 19.5915%"> </td>
<td style="width: 25.0696%"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 23.4912%">Gun:</td>
<td style="width: 23.4912%"> </td>
<td style="width: 19.5915%"> </td>
<td style="width: 25.0696%"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 23.4912%">[Midnight Eyes]</td>
<td style="width: 23.4912%"> </td>
<td style="width: 19.5915%">Perception</td>
<td style="width: 25.0696%"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 23.4912%">(unused)</td>
<td style="width: 23.4912%"> </td>
<td style="width: 19.5915%"> </td>
<td style="width: 25.0696%"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 23.4912%">(unused)</td>
<td style="width: 23.4912%"> </td>
<td style="width: 19.5915%"> </td>
<td style="width: 25.0696%"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 23.4912%">(unused)</td>
<td style="width: 23.4912%"> </td>
<td style="width: 19.5915%"> </td>
<td style="width: 25.0696%"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 23.4912%">(unused)</td>
<td style="width: 23.4912%"> </td>
<td style="width: 19.5915%"> </td>
<td style="width: 25.0696%"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 23.4912%"> </td>
<td style="width: 23.4912%"> </td>
<td style="width: 19.5915%"> </td>
<td style="width: 25.0696%"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 23.4912%">Onslaught:</td>
<td style="width: 23.4912%"> </td>
<td style="width: 19.5915%"> </td>
<td style="width: 25.0696%"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 23.4912%">[Avid Poisoner]</td>
<td style="width: 23.4912%"> </td>
<td style="width: 19.5915%">Aura</td>
<td style="width: 25.0696%"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 23.4912%">[Jump of the Poison Bug]</td>
<td style="width: 23.4912%">Locust</td>
<td style="width: 19.5915%">Special Attack</td>
<td style="width: 25.0696%"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 23.4912%">(unused)</td>
<td style="width: 23.4912%"> </td>
<td style="width: 19.5915%"> </td>
<td style="width: 25.0696%"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 23.4912%">(unused)</td>
<td style="width: 23.4912%"> </td>
<td style="width: 19.5915%"> </td>
<td style="width: 25.0696%"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 23.4912%">(unused)</td>
<td style="width: 23.4912%"> </td>
<td style="width: 19.5915%"> </td>
<td style="width: 25.0696%"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 23.4912%"> </td>
<td style="width: 23.4912%"> </td>
<td style="width: 19.5915%"> </td>
<td style="width: 25.0696%"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 23.4912%">Coral:</td>
<td style="width: 23.4912%"> </td>
<td style="width: 19.5915%"> </td>
<td style="width: 25.0696%"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 23.4912%">[Polyp basking in Sunlight]</td>
<td style="width: 23.4912%"> </td>
<td style="width: 19.5915%">Special Ability</td>
<td style="width: 25.0696%"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 23.4912%">(unused)</td>
<td style="width: 23.4912%"> </td>
<td style="width: 19.5915%"> </td>
<td style="width: 25.0696%"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 23.4912%">(unused)</td>
<td style="width: 23.4912%"> </td>
<td style="width: 19.5915%"> </td>
<td style="width: 25.0696%"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 23.4912%">(unused)</td>
<td style="width: 23.4912%"> </td>
<td style="width: 19.5915%"> </td>
<td style="width: 25.0696%"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 23.4912%">(unused)</td>
<td style="width: 23.4912%"> </td>
<td style="width: 19.5915%"> </td>
<td style="width: 25.0696%"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 23.4912%"> </td>
<td style="width: 23.4912%"> </td>
<td style="width: 19.5915%"> </td>
<td style="width: 25.0696%"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 23.4912%">Shield:</td>
<td style="width: 23.4912%"> </td>
<td style="width: 19.5915%"> </td>
<td style="width: 25.0696%"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 23.4912%">[Stone Skin Armour]</td>
<td style="width: 23.4912%"> </td>
<td style="width: 19.5915%">Special Ability</td>
<td style="width: 25.0696%"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 23.4912%">(unused)</td>
<td style="width: 23.4912%"> </td>
<td style="width: 19.5915%"> </td>
<td style="width: 25.0696%"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 23.4912%">(unused)</td>
<td style="width: 23.4912%"> </td>
<td style="width: 19.5915%"> </td>
<td style="width: 25.0696%"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 23.4912%">(unused)</td>
<td style="width: 23.4912%"> </td>
<td style="width: 19.5915%"> </td>
<td style="width: 25.0696%"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 23.4912%">(unused)</td>
<td style="width: 23.4912%"> </td>
<td style="width: 19.5915%"> </td>
<td style="width: 25.0696%"> </td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>