Categories > Cartoons > X-Men: Evolution > Revolution
Revolution
Chapter 17: Program
The suspense grew, as Quicksilver listened to Magneto's explanation. "The anti-mutant group built the satellite. I allowed it, looking to let them complete my work and take it from them. But they lost control over the core programming and the satellite launched itself into orbit. Its cloaking device makes it impossible to locate and even if it could be tracked, it moves very quickly and has a vast defense system. As for the one who is in control... no one is. It wasn't so bad before it activated, but Mystique managed to steal a space pod from a smaller Shield facility and made her way to the satellite. She apparently never returned, but her visit must have triggered something, because now the core programming is on the attack."
Magneto continued, "I don't think Mystique is in control of the satellite; she's either a prisoner or dead. If any sentient mind was in control, Revolution's actions would be much more effective. You see, the core programming is defective and the AI doesn't always make logical choices. It can follow a plan and suddenly abandon it when the procedures don't go as expected, it's not very good at coming up with counter measures and it doesn't always know who it should be targeting. But in some instances, everything clicks into place and the program actually executes as it should... such as with what happened in Alaska."
Pietro stared at his father in disbelief. He swallowed his shock and finally found his voice, "you're telling me that there's a doom's day weapon of mass destruction in orbit and it's being controlled by a faulty unpredictable computer?"
"And if it manages to debug its systems we'll be in big trouble," Magneto confirmed.
"Can't we just throw a virus or anti virus or something at it?" Pietro suggested, though he knew it couldn't be that simple.
"We would just be feeding the program and who knows what might happen if that thing integrated a virus or anti-virus into itself. Far from shutting it, down it might make it a more dangerous opponent," Magneto warned. "Short circuiting it would also be extremely difficult as it can discharge the energy back towards the planet and I'll likely get killed before I get close enough to dent the metal. Plus a new level of its master defense system would activate in the case of physical damage, so messing with the armor would be counterproductive. As it stands, the only way to shut it down is to reach the master computer and unplug it, so to speak."
"Wow..." It was a short, but very fitting expression. "What's the plan?"
"None," Magneto's reply took Pietro by surprise, which plainly showed in his expression. The older Maximoff elaborated, "I haven't been able to come up with any plan that holds a decent success rate. For the time being I'll leave Shield and the X-Men to handle this."
"I don't think the X-Men know the full story," Quicksilver commented.
"Shield does," Magneto assured. "And if Charles wanted, he could get the story out of them. Frankly, I wouldn't mind if you pass certain bits of information along. There's no need to tell them the full story."
"An out of control satellite made by anti-mutants," Pietro recited, purposely leaving Magneto out of the story. "I'll give them the message and the warnings."
"Speaking of warnings, I don't recommend watching TV. Listening to the radio should still be safe enough. Don't go on the internet either," Magneto warned.
Pietro frowned, 'don't go on the internet?' He might as well be telling all the youths in the city to go jump off a cliff. "Can I at least text?"
"Yes, you can text," Magneto couldn't help it but to let out a breath of impatience, but enough with the blogs, the world doesn't need to know what you're going every minute of your life. Really now... 2:30pm leaving school. 2:31pm at home, having snack. 2:32pm watching TV, can't wait for summer vacation..." and by the time summer vacation arrived, Magneto had stopped exposing himself to the possible brainwashing threat carried by the visual digital media of the world.
"It's not like any of that is a secret anyway..." Pietro half-argued, half-stated. "Besides," a thought occurred to him. "I can see codes when I look at the TV, but they haven't taken over the internet yet."
"You can see them?" The detail caught magneto's attention. "What do those codes say?"
"A bunch of gibberish?" Pietro replied unsure.
Magneto looked exasperated. "Write it down, if you're fast enough to actually see them and don't have any inexplicable thoughts in your head, then you're most likely safe. Those codes affect the subconscious with hidden messages paired with radioactive waves. We can't escape the radioactive waves any more than we can leave the planet without Revolution blowing us up, but if we could only fight the program..."
"It's like brain hacking?" Pietro concluded, to which Magneto nodded. "Okay, I'll write down the codes that I see, even if I don't understand any of them, but they blink really fast, even for me. Slowing down the image won't work, will it?"
"No, because the codes are not part of the video image, but an outside transmission," Magneto voiced.
A moment of silence passed between them and before he was given a review of the instructions and sent on his way, Pietro brought up the subject of his sister. "About Wanda, she wants to talk to you." Seeing Magneto's suspicious expression Quicksilver added. "She's not angry, she just misses you." There was a hint of bitterness because he knew it was all due to trickery.
"Keep her away from the TV," Magneto commanded. "Her memories were replaced, but she might end up going back to how things were if the brainwashing breaks the seal in her mind. Her mind is too full of layers; too complex for the brainwashing, but it can still undo the changes and turn all her memories, real and fabricated, into a jumbled mess. She would be worse than before. The mental seal is strong, but it's best not to risk it."
Pietro nodded, "got it." He didn't insist on it any further because it was obvious that Magneto didn't want to see Wanda now.
xoxox xox xoxox
Pietro went to the institute as he said he would. He shared the carefully selected details he heard about from Magneto with Xavier, who decided to bend his personal rules and take a look into Quicksilver's mind. He learned as much as Pietro knew about the situation, confirming that his words had been truthful, safe for the omission of Magneto's part in the creation of Revolution. Warnings were passed around and the only one who watched TV was Pietro, who kept his eyes on it constantly, waiting to see some codes to take notes of. Xavier hoped that showing the codes to Forge might help.
The channel was suddenly changed from a race car show to a drama, as Wanda took a seat next to Pietro in front of the TV. "Hey, you're not supposed to be watching TV!"
"I'm not," Wanda leaned back on the couch at closed her eyes. "I'm only listening, so it's harmless."
"But I don't want to watch that," Pietro complained.
"If the code transmission comes, it'll be the same on every channel." Wanda reminded him of the theory that stood.
"I'm not going to sit here watching dramas all the time." Pietro had a stubborn look in his face that quickly changed to foreboding when he saw Wanda's expression.
Her eyes were still closed as she asked, "what did father say about me?"
"He can't see you now... He's busy with research," Pietro half-lied.
"I've been having nightmares," Wanda confessed, taking her brother by surprise. "I thought that if I talked to him I would be reassured. I guess I was being selfish, thinking of my own problems when there's so much going on."
"Nightmares?" Pietro questioned. His attention was not on the TV anymore, but on Wanda. He was supposed to be looking for codes, but he didn't like the current program and didn't feel like watching it.
"Not the inexplicable fear kind of thing," Wanda assured. "I don't think I'm being targeted for brainwashing. I'm alright as long as I'm awake, but the nightmares are so real, yet so blurry. It's terrible; I'm in a dark lonely place, trapped. I keep calling for our father, but he doesn't come, he left me there and you just watched on. Then I see... I see..." She saw herself hating them, hurting them, killing them... "I don't want to see myself hurting those I care about, even in dreams." Her eyes were still closed, but a few tears escaped her.
Pietro wasn't sure how to react, "for how long has this been happening?"
"Since the start of summer," Wanda revealed. "I didn't want to bother you, so I never told you. I'm not a little girl; I shouldn't be frightened by nightmares. I don't trust Xavier or Jean enough to let them go into my head to try to calm me, so I thought talking would be enough."
What was he supposed to say to that? She was happier with the false memories; it was torture for her to think of the reality that she still thought was an illusion. "I'm sorry," Pietro voiced sincerely. "You may not understand this, but believe me, I'm telling you this because I think it's best, maybe not right, but best." Wanda didn't understand what Pietro was saying. How could something that wasn't right be the best? "Forget those bad images and focus on the nicer pictures, you'll be happier that way."
Wanda nodded, "I'll try." Anyone would think that Pietro was only stating the obvious, but the feeling of a deep hidden meaning clung to his every word.
xoxox xox xoxox
"I really miss the cold," Kurt confessed as he and Kitty hung around one of the institute's study rooms. The place was full of book shelves, but that was not what brought them to the location. They only wanted someplace quiet to talk without interruptions.
"I kind of like miss it too," Kitty agreed. "I'm still in shock about what happened and about all the things Magneto told Pietro about the satellite. I know Magneto can't be completely trusted, but if he wants us to like stop Revolution because it's a danger to him too, then this time he's probably telling the truth, right?"
Kurt nodded in agreement. "I think it's in his best interest to tell the truth this time."
There was still a detail that bothered Kurt and Kitty knew what it was. "You're worried about Mystique, aren't you?"
"She was alive," Kurt stated, as if trying to make it more believable to himself. "But she could be dead by now."
"Or captured," Kitty reminded, though she in truth didn't think it was too likely. How long could a person last as a prisoner of a crazy satellite program? Would the program even want to take prisoners? Yet Mystique was strong and just when they thought she was gone forever, she somehow managed to return and surprise them. "We shouldn't reach conclusions," for better or worse, "until we know for sure." Yet it wouldn't do Kurt any good to get his hopes up for nothing. "Rescuing her," she admitted, "would be like..."
"Next to impossible," Kurt finished. "It's okay; you can say it, it's better to be honest about the situation. That's not the biggest problem though, Revolution is."
Kitty nodded, "and we'll conquer it just like we have faced every other problem." She smiled, trying to remain optimistic. She didn't know how they could solve this, but it wasn't the first time the X-Men had found themselves in a seemingly hopeless situation and come out of it. "We'll get trough this like..." she blushed slightly, "together."
"Right," Kurt smiled. He might not have everything he ever wanted in life, but as long as he had Kitty, he felt that he had everything he could ever need. "Together..." The world was in danger, another apocalypse was imminent and it felt like something out of a movie, but Kurt still managed to find a small moment of peace in Kitty's eyes as he drew her closer.
They fitted comfortably in each other's arms, eyes slowly closing, faces losing distance until their lips met again. The affectionate moment was blissful, but short, as suddenly the entire structure of the institute vibrated with a force different from that of an earthquake and alarms went off following the echoing sounds of distant explosions. Kitty, Kurt and the others rushed to meet up and find out what was happening. They hurried to the strategy room where they might find Xavier and the other instructors.
To be Continued
Secrets are being revealed, but there is still more to be discovered!
Chapter 17: Program
The suspense grew, as Quicksilver listened to Magneto's explanation. "The anti-mutant group built the satellite. I allowed it, looking to let them complete my work and take it from them. But they lost control over the core programming and the satellite launched itself into orbit. Its cloaking device makes it impossible to locate and even if it could be tracked, it moves very quickly and has a vast defense system. As for the one who is in control... no one is. It wasn't so bad before it activated, but Mystique managed to steal a space pod from a smaller Shield facility and made her way to the satellite. She apparently never returned, but her visit must have triggered something, because now the core programming is on the attack."
Magneto continued, "I don't think Mystique is in control of the satellite; she's either a prisoner or dead. If any sentient mind was in control, Revolution's actions would be much more effective. You see, the core programming is defective and the AI doesn't always make logical choices. It can follow a plan and suddenly abandon it when the procedures don't go as expected, it's not very good at coming up with counter measures and it doesn't always know who it should be targeting. But in some instances, everything clicks into place and the program actually executes as it should... such as with what happened in Alaska."
Pietro stared at his father in disbelief. He swallowed his shock and finally found his voice, "you're telling me that there's a doom's day weapon of mass destruction in orbit and it's being controlled by a faulty unpredictable computer?"
"And if it manages to debug its systems we'll be in big trouble," Magneto confirmed.
"Can't we just throw a virus or anti virus or something at it?" Pietro suggested, though he knew it couldn't be that simple.
"We would just be feeding the program and who knows what might happen if that thing integrated a virus or anti-virus into itself. Far from shutting it, down it might make it a more dangerous opponent," Magneto warned. "Short circuiting it would also be extremely difficult as it can discharge the energy back towards the planet and I'll likely get killed before I get close enough to dent the metal. Plus a new level of its master defense system would activate in the case of physical damage, so messing with the armor would be counterproductive. As it stands, the only way to shut it down is to reach the master computer and unplug it, so to speak."
"Wow..." It was a short, but very fitting expression. "What's the plan?"
"None," Magneto's reply took Pietro by surprise, which plainly showed in his expression. The older Maximoff elaborated, "I haven't been able to come up with any plan that holds a decent success rate. For the time being I'll leave Shield and the X-Men to handle this."
"I don't think the X-Men know the full story," Quicksilver commented.
"Shield does," Magneto assured. "And if Charles wanted, he could get the story out of them. Frankly, I wouldn't mind if you pass certain bits of information along. There's no need to tell them the full story."
"An out of control satellite made by anti-mutants," Pietro recited, purposely leaving Magneto out of the story. "I'll give them the message and the warnings."
"Speaking of warnings, I don't recommend watching TV. Listening to the radio should still be safe enough. Don't go on the internet either," Magneto warned.
Pietro frowned, 'don't go on the internet?' He might as well be telling all the youths in the city to go jump off a cliff. "Can I at least text?"
"Yes, you can text," Magneto couldn't help it but to let out a breath of impatience, but enough with the blogs, the world doesn't need to know what you're going every minute of your life. Really now... 2:30pm leaving school. 2:31pm at home, having snack. 2:32pm watching TV, can't wait for summer vacation..." and by the time summer vacation arrived, Magneto had stopped exposing himself to the possible brainwashing threat carried by the visual digital media of the world.
"It's not like any of that is a secret anyway..." Pietro half-argued, half-stated. "Besides," a thought occurred to him. "I can see codes when I look at the TV, but they haven't taken over the internet yet."
"You can see them?" The detail caught magneto's attention. "What do those codes say?"
"A bunch of gibberish?" Pietro replied unsure.
Magneto looked exasperated. "Write it down, if you're fast enough to actually see them and don't have any inexplicable thoughts in your head, then you're most likely safe. Those codes affect the subconscious with hidden messages paired with radioactive waves. We can't escape the radioactive waves any more than we can leave the planet without Revolution blowing us up, but if we could only fight the program..."
"It's like brain hacking?" Pietro concluded, to which Magneto nodded. "Okay, I'll write down the codes that I see, even if I don't understand any of them, but they blink really fast, even for me. Slowing down the image won't work, will it?"
"No, because the codes are not part of the video image, but an outside transmission," Magneto voiced.
A moment of silence passed between them and before he was given a review of the instructions and sent on his way, Pietro brought up the subject of his sister. "About Wanda, she wants to talk to you." Seeing Magneto's suspicious expression Quicksilver added. "She's not angry, she just misses you." There was a hint of bitterness because he knew it was all due to trickery.
"Keep her away from the TV," Magneto commanded. "Her memories were replaced, but she might end up going back to how things were if the brainwashing breaks the seal in her mind. Her mind is too full of layers; too complex for the brainwashing, but it can still undo the changes and turn all her memories, real and fabricated, into a jumbled mess. She would be worse than before. The mental seal is strong, but it's best not to risk it."
Pietro nodded, "got it." He didn't insist on it any further because it was obvious that Magneto didn't want to see Wanda now.
xoxox xox xoxox
Pietro went to the institute as he said he would. He shared the carefully selected details he heard about from Magneto with Xavier, who decided to bend his personal rules and take a look into Quicksilver's mind. He learned as much as Pietro knew about the situation, confirming that his words had been truthful, safe for the omission of Magneto's part in the creation of Revolution. Warnings were passed around and the only one who watched TV was Pietro, who kept his eyes on it constantly, waiting to see some codes to take notes of. Xavier hoped that showing the codes to Forge might help.
The channel was suddenly changed from a race car show to a drama, as Wanda took a seat next to Pietro in front of the TV. "Hey, you're not supposed to be watching TV!"
"I'm not," Wanda leaned back on the couch at closed her eyes. "I'm only listening, so it's harmless."
"But I don't want to watch that," Pietro complained.
"If the code transmission comes, it'll be the same on every channel." Wanda reminded him of the theory that stood.
"I'm not going to sit here watching dramas all the time." Pietro had a stubborn look in his face that quickly changed to foreboding when he saw Wanda's expression.
Her eyes were still closed as she asked, "what did father say about me?"
"He can't see you now... He's busy with research," Pietro half-lied.
"I've been having nightmares," Wanda confessed, taking her brother by surprise. "I thought that if I talked to him I would be reassured. I guess I was being selfish, thinking of my own problems when there's so much going on."
"Nightmares?" Pietro questioned. His attention was not on the TV anymore, but on Wanda. He was supposed to be looking for codes, but he didn't like the current program and didn't feel like watching it.
"Not the inexplicable fear kind of thing," Wanda assured. "I don't think I'm being targeted for brainwashing. I'm alright as long as I'm awake, but the nightmares are so real, yet so blurry. It's terrible; I'm in a dark lonely place, trapped. I keep calling for our father, but he doesn't come, he left me there and you just watched on. Then I see... I see..." She saw herself hating them, hurting them, killing them... "I don't want to see myself hurting those I care about, even in dreams." Her eyes were still closed, but a few tears escaped her.
Pietro wasn't sure how to react, "for how long has this been happening?"
"Since the start of summer," Wanda revealed. "I didn't want to bother you, so I never told you. I'm not a little girl; I shouldn't be frightened by nightmares. I don't trust Xavier or Jean enough to let them go into my head to try to calm me, so I thought talking would be enough."
What was he supposed to say to that? She was happier with the false memories; it was torture for her to think of the reality that she still thought was an illusion. "I'm sorry," Pietro voiced sincerely. "You may not understand this, but believe me, I'm telling you this because I think it's best, maybe not right, but best." Wanda didn't understand what Pietro was saying. How could something that wasn't right be the best? "Forget those bad images and focus on the nicer pictures, you'll be happier that way."
Wanda nodded, "I'll try." Anyone would think that Pietro was only stating the obvious, but the feeling of a deep hidden meaning clung to his every word.
xoxox xox xoxox
"I really miss the cold," Kurt confessed as he and Kitty hung around one of the institute's study rooms. The place was full of book shelves, but that was not what brought them to the location. They only wanted someplace quiet to talk without interruptions.
"I kind of like miss it too," Kitty agreed. "I'm still in shock about what happened and about all the things Magneto told Pietro about the satellite. I know Magneto can't be completely trusted, but if he wants us to like stop Revolution because it's a danger to him too, then this time he's probably telling the truth, right?"
Kurt nodded in agreement. "I think it's in his best interest to tell the truth this time."
There was still a detail that bothered Kurt and Kitty knew what it was. "You're worried about Mystique, aren't you?"
"She was alive," Kurt stated, as if trying to make it more believable to himself. "But she could be dead by now."
"Or captured," Kitty reminded, though she in truth didn't think it was too likely. How long could a person last as a prisoner of a crazy satellite program? Would the program even want to take prisoners? Yet Mystique was strong and just when they thought she was gone forever, she somehow managed to return and surprise them. "We shouldn't reach conclusions," for better or worse, "until we know for sure." Yet it wouldn't do Kurt any good to get his hopes up for nothing. "Rescuing her," she admitted, "would be like..."
"Next to impossible," Kurt finished. "It's okay; you can say it, it's better to be honest about the situation. That's not the biggest problem though, Revolution is."
Kitty nodded, "and we'll conquer it just like we have faced every other problem." She smiled, trying to remain optimistic. She didn't know how they could solve this, but it wasn't the first time the X-Men had found themselves in a seemingly hopeless situation and come out of it. "We'll get trough this like..." she blushed slightly, "together."
"Right," Kurt smiled. He might not have everything he ever wanted in life, but as long as he had Kitty, he felt that he had everything he could ever need. "Together..." The world was in danger, another apocalypse was imminent and it felt like something out of a movie, but Kurt still managed to find a small moment of peace in Kitty's eyes as he drew her closer.
They fitted comfortably in each other's arms, eyes slowly closing, faces losing distance until their lips met again. The affectionate moment was blissful, but short, as suddenly the entire structure of the institute vibrated with a force different from that of an earthquake and alarms went off following the echoing sounds of distant explosions. Kitty, Kurt and the others rushed to meet up and find out what was happening. They hurried to the strategy room where they might find Xavier and the other instructors.
To be Continued
Secrets are being revealed, but there is still more to be discovered!
Sign up to rate and review this story