Vidphones - Because this is the FUTURE, Bitches

[Ria Larsen]

The evening after meeting Cassiel in the Ascension Plaza, she dials the number he gave her and sits down in front of her vidphone.

I wonder if he'll answer. I wonder if he'll stay on the phone when he sees who it is.

[Michael Asters]

The phone answered on the third ring. On the other end was a jet-lagged Cassiel, looking tired but alert. "Ms. Larsen. You certainly work quickly."

[Ria Larsen]

"I didn't read everything you unlocked for me. That is what you did, isn't it? Gave my account special privileges?"

"Anyway, I read enough to get the point. I still don't think I'm wrong."

[Michael Asters]

"I never said you were wrong, particularly for the information you had. What I meant was that you weren't completely correct, either."

[Ria Larsen]

"Well that kind of cronyisim and unofficial power is the result of having a system where the chief executive doesn't change. That's why GeNDA works for the things we do."

Ria smiles a little. "So why did you give me your number? You couldn't have thought I'd change my mind overnight, you must have met other student activists, know we're a stubborn bunch."

[Michael Asters]

He chuckled slightly. "I don't want you to change your mind. Maybe small parts of it, I suppose, it's always nice to not disagree."

"I don't suppose that I'm lucky enough that you're considering that there's possibly a better starting point than decapitating the Accolytes?"

[Ria Larsen]

"If Magneto steps down, but his Acolytes are in power, that's a huge problem. The other way around works a lot better for the government. I'm surprised you're taking me so seriously though. Nobody in the government seems to be listening, and we're not on the radar of any other Acolytes at all."

[Michael Asters]

"I've spent my life building this island and trying to get it into some sane form of government or mindset. I could lay out a list of all the things I want to change. Why, exactly, should I want to keep quiet the things someone else wants to change?"

[Ria Larsen]

Ria eyes Cassiel suspiciously. Hopefull, but suspiciously. "At the risk of being mindcrushed, Lord Cassiel, are you fucking with me?"

[Michael Asters]

"There's a cafe still open at the west end of the plaza, near where the executive apartments in the capital are. Meet me there in a half hour and you can answer that yourself. My treat."

[Ria Larsen]

"Okay, sure." She smiles, "Thanks."



Twenty five minutes later, Ria is sitting in the cafe, in one of their sturdy chairs.

[Michael Asters]

At thirty minutes to the second, Cassiel walked in. There was an immediate bustle from the staff, which just as immediately died with a mental push from Cassiel. "Ms. Larson," he said, inclining his head in greeting as he took a seat across from her.

[Ria Larsen]

"Lord Cassiel."

[Michael Asters]

"So," he said, picking up a menu, "What is it that you want?"

[Ria Larsen]

"Just a small cup of coffee is fine. It'll just be for the taste for me."

[Michael Asters]

Cassiel smiled slightly, putting the menu down. "All right. Now with that out of the way, what is it that you want?"

[Ria Larsen]

"You read my pamphlet, you know what I want. I want the government of Genosha to be democratic in all its branches. I want it to be accountable to the people, and I want there to be sufficient transparency in the government to keep it ethical and free of corruption."

Ria chuckles . "I realize I might not get all of that tomorrow. But I'm committed to GeNDA, and to change that improves Genosha."

[Michael Asters]

"You said it. Politicians won't listen to you. So how do you want to do it."

[Ria Larsen]

"We'll keep working, get the word out. Build grassroots organizations, eventually get someone into the senate. Then we just keep building our efforts. Eventually, I think people will realize that having an accountable government will make their lives better."

[Michael Asters]

"Tried it," he said, taking the cup of coffee that the waitress brought for him, picking up the cream and sugar, sending them flowing into his coffee with his telekinesis as the waitress served Ria hers. "Or should I say, it's been tried. And it's failed."

"The biggest problem with grassroots movements is that they don't have anyone on the inside, and anyone they get on the inside is just another cog in the system. Council members tend to be faces on paper, with platforms next to their names which they only occasionally live up to."

"So I suppose the question is what you, personally, are willing to do to make the Genosha that you want."

[Ria Larsen]

"You heard my answer. I don't have any other ways to bring change around. I'll just have to make sure I work harder than the people who failed last time."

[Michael Asters]

"Not really," he said. "You simply need an opening. You need to get inside the machine you're trying to tear down, and earn yourself the power to make changes, to champion the cause you belong to."

"So I suppose the big question is who would ever give you an opening like that.'

[Ria Larsen]

"Look, if you're trying to buy me off... I'm a little mystified. I'm pretty sure I'm not worth whatever you're going to try and pay me."

[Michael Asters]

"Buying you off implies I want you to stop," Cassiel said. "What I think that I want to do is put you in a position to learn how the system works, actually see what is working and what isn't working, and get the experience you need to work the system to actually effectively start the changes that this country needs."

[Ria Larsen]

"Oooh, you want me to sell out." Ria smirks. "Okay, now I'm caught up."

[Michael Asters]

Cassiel chuckled. "Well, that depends. What's more important to you... furthering the good of Genosha, or looking edgy and rebellious in front of your little friends?"

[Ria Larsen]

"The good of Genosha. I just don't think you and I agree on exactly what that is."

[Michael Asters]

"Oh, I don't care if you agree with me. What I care about is that you also don't agree with the people who are spreading the elitist bullshit that helps the 'influential' families have so much sway, despite the best efforts of most of the people in the capital. At this point, my name's gotten bigger than I ever wanted to be, and I've hit the limit of what I can effectively do. The best that I can do now is find the right people to get in place to shake things up when the old guard exits stage left."

[Ria Larsen]

"So what exactly would I be doing?"

[Michael Asters]

"Oh, that part's simple. I've gone without a staff for far too long. You'd be put on staff as one of my new aides. That does, of course, mean that you're given Accolyte status, too, simply because executive aides are called on for much more than clerical work when there's the need. Like I said... I get you in, you learn the system, and you'll be in place when you're ready to start pushing changes. At which time, I'll more than likely step aside, too. Gladly."

[Ria Larsen]

"So I'd be doing whatever you're doing. But what are you doing? I'm not going to give up my ideals just for a nice job. You say you want to break down the power of the influential dynast-families. How? And to what end?"

[Michael Asters]

Cassiel took a sip of his coffee. "By any chance, have you ever met or seen my daughter? Kyra Raphael?" he asked, hoping for a 'yes' to make his next point easier.

[Ria Larsen]

"Kyra 'Glass the Flatscans' Raphael is your daughter?"

[Michael Asters]

"Ah, so you have met her," he said, smiling slightly. "And yes, she is... something I learned back in October. And all of the ideas I've had to work to un-teach her areperfect examples of what I want to stamp out in Genosha at large. Prejudices are prejudices, but we shouldn't be teaching people idiocy like that as fact, particularly all these foolish ideas about what makes someone a 'better' mutant than someone else. Things like that are what let me know that we haven't succeeded in making our ideal society. It means that it's someone else's turn to try, but I'll be damned if I step aside just so Livia Raphael or one of her little friends can fill the vaccuum."

[Ria Larsen]

"That sounds awesome, I mean that totally sincerely. But... how do I help you with that?"

[Michael Asters]

"By getting yourself into the system that you hate. Putting yourself where you can learn what needs to be done. You are, of course, free to walk away if you think I'm having you do anything that's bad for the country."

He set his coffee down, looking hard across the table at her. "You'll train to be an Accolyte. One of my Accolytes, because right now, I need all the people I can trust around me that I can get, that's how you can help me. I'll get you in. You learn how things work- how they really work, not just how people think they work. When you're ready, I'll make sure that you have the voice you need to help changes happen. After that? It's all up to you."

[Julia White]

Crossfire had been sitting a few tables away, not paying all that much attention to her surroundings. That is until she heard Lord Cassiel's voice and she threw a quick glance over her shoulder.

Holy shit, it really is him.

[Ria Larsen]

Ria takes a drink of her coffee, and then looks down at the liquid in the cup. She turns the cup around in her hands. Cassiel can feel a lot of emotions and confusion in her, though the concentration required to not destroy the cup sooths her, a minor personal ritual.

She looks back up at Cassiel. "Okay. I'll give it a shot. I'm still not sure why I'm getting this offer. Pretty much everything I've said has been something that should piss you off."

[Michael Asters]

"Because you want what's best for this country. Because you aren't just accepting what everyone says you should. Because you think. I don't need to agree with everything you say, I just need to respect that you believe what you say, because you've thought about it."

[Ria Larsen]

She's not sure she believes all that, Cassiel's power easily picks up some lingering mistrust, but it's hard to turn down a compliment from someone in his position. She smiles broadly, flashing beautiful diamond teeth.

"Okay, cool. So, what now?"