I apologise for the delay, this week has been absolute murder, as far as more or less everything is concerned. Write-up:
Team name: 2+2 = 5
It had been a strange week, very strange indeed. First, a relative of mine, whom I had never heard of before was inflicted with a terminal illness that baffled all doctors that treated him and for some reason, I had been notified about this. Apparently this relative, unbeknownst to me, had harboured feelings of affection had wanted me to know of his demise, but, at the same time, did not want me to see him before his passing. Then, when this event had passed, which had seemed deeply profound but yet not in the least bit connected to what I considered reality, I was again contacted. A letter implied that some lawyer wanted to speak to me concerning an inheritance, bequeathed to me by this mysterious relative. With a mindset of utter consternation I made my way to this meeting, not knowing in the least what to expect of it. In retrospect, this was a good thing, as what was about to happen defied expectations even more vehemently than it defied reality.
I was greeted by a small-ish gentleman that wore a monk's garb and very clearly was no lawyer. Something in him hinted at an understanding of things that far exceeded that of a regular human being. Perhaps it was his smile, which appeared smug on the surface until you looked more closely and saw that this feeling of being looked down upon was not an attitude of his, but rooted in one's own realisation of being opposite a being that was not effable by any human standards.
"Ah, Mr. j., I have awaited your coming...to some extent. My name is Lobsang Ludd and I am here to fetch you and introduce you to your own legacy. I know that you are confused by the happenings of the last few weeks, but I assure you, they were very much necessary, for reasons I hope you'll soon understand. If you would now kindly follow me."
Of course, I was sceptical: "Follow you where? What do you know about me? And what kind of legacy are you talking about?"
Ludd shook his head: "I might have been clearer: Your assent to accompanying me is immaterial. In fact, you already have."
I had made a crucial mistake, I had blinked and, all of a sudden, I was no longer in a dusty office, but was standing in the tall grass of a beautiful valley. For some reason, all my tension had been shaken off. It must have been something about the surroundings themselves, or possibly it was because of this beautiful music that enveloped me, as I ceased trying to understand what was happening. My companion tilted his head towards the origin of the music and spoke again: "Welcome to Xanadu, I think this would be a good time for you to meet our esteemed leader."
He started walking in the direction of the music and I followed. Soon we came upon a group of children gathered around an old man playing a kantele. Naturally, I assumed that the sage playing this magical tune was the one Ludd had referred to as the leader, an impression furthered by his appearance and obvious power. However, as I should have seen by then, expectations were nothing more than folly here, for when the tune was finished it wasn't him that spoke, but rather one of the children sitting at his feet: "Thank you Väinämöinen, it was beautiful as always, your skills are unparalleled. I would love to listen more, but our friend Mr. j. seems to have arrived and I he seems lost, we should fix that."
I looked at the boy and it struck me. More than the valley itself, more even that Väinämöinen's music, it was him who was responsible for my sudden inner peace. He radiated innocence and good will. But more than this, he also seemed to glow with a power greater even than that of Ludd, but accompanied by a demeanour that was humble and friendly so that the feeling of insignificance that I had gotten, when I first encountered the mysterious Ludd was replaced by a feeling of tranquility and love that I never had experienced before.
"We will still have to wait for a few more newcomers, but seeing as that the one responsible for their arrival is nearly as punctual as Lobsang, this should not take too long."
"No," said a new voice, "it should not."
I turned around and faced the new arrivals and, once more, I was taken aback. All three of them were bald. One was Haitian and, opposed to all others, did not exude any aura of power, but rather the opposite. Whenever I looked at him, the magic of the place seemed to go away and reality came rushing back with full force. The second looked quite grizzled and seemed to pretty tense. Also, from time to time, sparks were shooting from his fingertips and whenever he came too close to the third of the bunch, an electrical current was established between the two. The third one, however, was the most remarkable. He seemed more like an apparition than a real person, mostly due to fact that he was blue and shining, I suppose.
"Alright," said the boy, "now that our group is complete, it is time to tell Mr. j. what it is that has happened here.
You see, all that has happened to you before has already happened in a different time-stream. There was more following that, but we've, or rather you have decided that it is rather unnecessary for our purposes. Your inheritance is an island on which you, your friends and your family were going to settle for the rest of your life. The only obstacle was your envious neighbours, who enlisted collections of very evil people to destroy you and your happiness. The collection of individuals your neighbours managed to contact were dangerous enough on their own, but once they bundled their powers, they posed a threat to humanity that had no precedent. Thankfully, you are a resourceful man and managed to contact Mr. Ludd and convince him to help you. It was he, who then collected me and we started thinking about more recruits.
Enlisting Dr. Manhattan, the blue gentleman that just appeared was Ludd's idea, who encountered him as a fellow intimate of Time. He is a rather natural ally for Ludd, since they both have quite a few similarities as far as their powers are concerned. He is our main enforcer and is often sent on missions alongside René and Mr. McGrath to neutralise specific threats. His ability to bend time and space, as well as his being able vaporise enemies makes him perfect for the elemination of the most dangerous threats.
]Väinämöinen is an old (the emphasis here being on old) friend of mine and I wanted his help mostly for defensive purposes. The two of us would rather like to spend our time here, protect the valley and apply our wisdom on planning future tasks. If need be, he can also accompany our younger friends on their missions, but this doesn't happen all too often, as they are usually capable of handling these things alone.
Our Haitian friend, who was very happy to join us, as he, frankly, was getting sick and tired of always being between the lines of a conflict that did not really concern him, is not only sent on missions but also likes to stay here and ward of threats. It pleases him to see villains trying to strike against us, only to find themselves powerless and opposed to the massive forces of myself and Väinämöinen.
Cole, apart from being our second enforcer, is also a bit of a project. His powers have manifested only three weeks ago and have been escalating ever since. Seeing as how he himself is responsible for getting these powers -he traveled in time to prepare himself for facing an immense enemy- we needed to see how far his powers may go and since they are based on electricity, something that Dr. Manhattan is well equipped to help him with, we could afford him with a great testing grounds for his new powers.
Lobsang himself functions as a second in command. He is not often around in corporeal form, but whenever he is needed, he supplies help as a manifested deus ex machina device. Let us just say, it is good to have time on your side and we *always* have."
"So let me get this straight," said I with a slight headache "all this is a result of actions that have not exactly taken place yet, correct?"
"Correct."
"But how does that work? Does that mean that all this had taken place potentially anyway and that I was a mere accident that brought it along, but was unnecessary in the end?"
"Correct, again."
"I'm sorry, but that does not seem very logical to me."
"Logic, my friend, has no place in a worldview that includes us. Reality is no longer affected by natural laws and things of their kind. Reality is now only something that we decide about. It is what we say it is. This is a world where 2+2 does not necessarily equal 4. This is a world where 2+2 equals whatever we say it does. Luckily, you must not be afraid of us making any wrog decisions, we are merely here to see to it that 2+2 will continue to equal 4."
Team name: 2+2 = 5
It had been a strange week, very strange indeed. First, a relative of mine, whom I had never heard of before was inflicted with a terminal illness that baffled all doctors that treated him and for some reason, I had been notified about this. Apparently this relative, unbeknownst to me, had harboured feelings of affection had wanted me to know of his demise, but, at the same time, did not want me to see him before his passing. Then, when this event had passed, which had seemed deeply profound but yet not in the least bit connected to what I considered reality, I was again contacted. A letter implied that some lawyer wanted to speak to me concerning an inheritance, bequeathed to me by this mysterious relative. With a mindset of utter consternation I made my way to this meeting, not knowing in the least what to expect of it. In retrospect, this was a good thing, as what was about to happen defied expectations even more vehemently than it defied reality.
I was greeted by a small-ish gentleman that wore a monk's garb and very clearly was no lawyer. Something in him hinted at an understanding of things that far exceeded that of a regular human being. Perhaps it was his smile, which appeared smug on the surface until you looked more closely and saw that this feeling of being looked down upon was not an attitude of his, but rooted in one's own realisation of being opposite a being that was not effable by any human standards.
"Ah, Mr. j., I have awaited your coming...to some extent. My name is Lobsang Ludd and I am here to fetch you and introduce you to your own legacy. I know that you are confused by the happenings of the last few weeks, but I assure you, they were very much necessary, for reasons I hope you'll soon understand. If you would now kindly follow me."
Of course, I was sceptical: "Follow you where? What do you know about me? And what kind of legacy are you talking about?"
Ludd shook his head: "I might have been clearer: Your assent to accompanying me is immaterial. In fact, you already have."
I had made a crucial mistake, I had blinked and, all of a sudden, I was no longer in a dusty office, but was standing in the tall grass of a beautiful valley. For some reason, all my tension had been shaken off. It must have been something about the surroundings themselves, or possibly it was because of this beautiful music that enveloped me, as I ceased trying to understand what was happening. My companion tilted his head towards the origin of the music and spoke again: "Welcome to Xanadu, I think this would be a good time for you to meet our esteemed leader."
He started walking in the direction of the music and I followed. Soon we came upon a group of children gathered around an old man playing a kantele. Naturally, I assumed that the sage playing this magical tune was the one Ludd had referred to as the leader, an impression furthered by his appearance and obvious power. However, as I should have seen by then, expectations were nothing more than folly here, for when the tune was finished it wasn't him that spoke, but rather one of the children sitting at his feet: "Thank you Väinämöinen, it was beautiful as always, your skills are unparalleled. I would love to listen more, but our friend Mr. j. seems to have arrived and I he seems lost, we should fix that."
I looked at the boy and it struck me. More than the valley itself, more even that Väinämöinen's music, it was him who was responsible for my sudden inner peace. He radiated innocence and good will. But more than this, he also seemed to glow with a power greater even than that of Ludd, but accompanied by a demeanour that was humble and friendly so that the feeling of insignificance that I had gotten, when I first encountered the mysterious Ludd was replaced by a feeling of tranquility and love that I never had experienced before.
"We will still have to wait for a few more newcomers, but seeing as that the one responsible for their arrival is nearly as punctual as Lobsang, this should not take too long."
"No," said a new voice, "it should not."
I turned around and faced the new arrivals and, once more, I was taken aback. All three of them were bald. One was Haitian and, opposed to all others, did not exude any aura of power, but rather the opposite. Whenever I looked at him, the magic of the place seemed to go away and reality came rushing back with full force. The second looked quite grizzled and seemed to pretty tense. Also, from time to time, sparks were shooting from his fingertips and whenever he came too close to the third of the bunch, an electrical current was established between the two. The third one, however, was the most remarkable. He seemed more like an apparition than a real person, mostly due to fact that he was blue and shining, I suppose.
"Alright," said the boy, "now that our group is complete, it is time to tell Mr. j. what it is that has happened here.
You see, all that has happened to you before has already happened in a different time-stream. There was more following that, but we've, or rather you have decided that it is rather unnecessary for our purposes. Your inheritance is an island on which you, your friends and your family were going to settle for the rest of your life. The only obstacle was your envious neighbours, who enlisted collections of very evil people to destroy you and your happiness. The collection of individuals your neighbours managed to contact were dangerous enough on their own, but once they bundled their powers, they posed a threat to humanity that had no precedent. Thankfully, you are a resourceful man and managed to contact Mr. Ludd and convince him to help you. It was he, who then collected me and we started thinking about more recruits.
Enlisting Dr. Manhattan, the blue gentleman that just appeared was Ludd's idea, who encountered him as a fellow intimate of Time. He is a rather natural ally for Ludd, since they both have quite a few similarities as far as their powers are concerned. He is our main enforcer and is often sent on missions alongside René and Mr. McGrath to neutralise specific threats. His ability to bend time and space, as well as his being able vaporise enemies makes him perfect for the elemination of the most dangerous threats.
]Väinämöinen is an old (the emphasis here being on old) friend of mine and I wanted his help mostly for defensive purposes. The two of us would rather like to spend our time here, protect the valley and apply our wisdom on planning future tasks. If need be, he can also accompany our younger friends on their missions, but this doesn't happen all too often, as they are usually capable of handling these things alone.
Our Haitian friend, who was very happy to join us, as he, frankly, was getting sick and tired of always being between the lines of a conflict that did not really concern him, is not only sent on missions but also likes to stay here and ward of threats. It pleases him to see villains trying to strike against us, only to find themselves powerless and opposed to the massive forces of myself and Väinämöinen.
Cole, apart from being our second enforcer, is also a bit of a project. His powers have manifested only three weeks ago and have been escalating ever since. Seeing as how he himself is responsible for getting these powers -he traveled in time to prepare himself for facing an immense enemy- we needed to see how far his powers may go and since they are based on electricity, something that Dr. Manhattan is well equipped to help him with, we could afford him with a great testing grounds for his new powers.
Lobsang himself functions as a second in command. He is not often around in corporeal form, but whenever he is needed, he supplies help as a manifested deus ex machina device. Let us just say, it is good to have time on your side and we *always* have."
"So let me get this straight," said I with a slight headache "all this is a result of actions that have not exactly taken place yet, correct?"
"Correct."
"But how does that work? Does that mean that all this had taken place potentially anyway and that I was a mere accident that brought it along, but was unnecessary in the end?"
"Correct, again."
"I'm sorry, but that does not seem very logical to me."
"Logic, my friend, has no place in a worldview that includes us. Reality is no longer affected by natural laws and things of their kind. Reality is now only something that we decide about. It is what we say it is. This is a world where 2+2 does not necessarily equal 4. This is a world where 2+2 equals whatever we say it does. Luckily, you must not be afraid of us making any wrog decisions, we are merely here to see to it that 2+2 will continue to equal 4."
.
