"...will have justice!  We will have RETRIBUTION!"  Geryon's voice was strident, calling for the heads of the Michaelists, and the church's entire congregation.

"History has taught us that the two seldom go hand in hand.  But fine, lets assume they deserve this.  Why ruin our image, right as we are gaining a following for all our work?" Raoul's tone was mocking when he replied, but the dangerous glare Geryon returned made the socialite look away quickly.

"Why even bother?" asked Shrapnel, even as Narcosis stated "They're Utopia scum, and not even the supposedly Teragen ones that pay lip service to Teragen ideals.  Who cares if they get shot?"  The two shared a look of surprise and distaste; they weren't used to being on the same side of an argument, but neither would decline the support.

"IT DOESN'T MATTER!" Geryon was shouting again.  "When they strike against a nova, ANY nova, they strike against all of us.  The monkeys don't get to hurt us!"

"And they did hurt them, didn't they... So strange, that shouldn't have been possible.  It seems the rumors are true..." Scripture spoke quietly, mostly to himself, but the room always listened to him even so.

"You can't do this Geryon, you simply can't, this is exactly the kind of action that will throw the future into chaos, set all the worst predictions in motion!"  Santiago was irate, but his anger covered a deep fear.

"We'll see about what I can do, and what I can't, but in the meantime... Well, if I were you I wouldn't EVER block my path once I've made a decision, little man."  Geryon's anger turned from Raoul to Santiago, but he held onto it for only a moment before switching to another favored topic.  "So, the Utopia novas are fucked up.  Like Scripture said, that's pretty clear, especially with the other rumors floating around.  What we going to do about it?  This opens up a lot of doors for us.  And SHOULD close some for them.  Grav, Impetus, even Solitaire, what place do they have on our council if they can't even hold themselves together?  And the old Utopia crew, they were the only thing holding us back from taking out that facility in Bahrain, making our mark on the Columbian leftovers for what they did, and a half dozen other things.  I say the Utopians need to go, and that we need to push forward."

Silence followed.  Everyone had been thinking it of course, some out of jealousy or competition, some out of contempt.  But everyone had been thinking it.  Caestus Pax broke the silence.

"Really, that's what being Teragen is to you?  Support other novas until they aren't strong enough to be of use, then throw them away?  I say it's our duty to help them get fixed.  What if this could hurt us as well, did you not think of that?  I've never liked the egghead much, and Solitaire is an uppity bitch, but Impetus deserves better than that."  He still talked about the time Impetus helped him after the blast, and he attributed his choice to become a Terat to Impetus as well.  He wasn't letting the charismatic nova down in his time of need.

"Sure, what if it could hurt us too.  What if it's some kind of sickness, and we catch it?  And can we really trust them to think about the cause first, when they're in a state like this?  Think about it: you're weakened, likely to be on par with the monkeys, desperate not to lose your powers but hedging against the time that you do, looking out for the humans you might have to go back to, and cutting deals with anyone that will give you a chance to hold on just a bit longer.  And don't tell me that isn't what they're doing, because every one of you knows that's EXACTLY what you'd be doing if it was you in their place.  Look, I feel for them, but they don't get to sit here with us."  A look at Pax's scowl made him add a bit of altruism to his statement.  "But of course we'll help them.  Hell, even if it's just to protect our own asses in case this turns into some kind of nova plague.  And they were good Terats since the beginning.  Sure, sure.  We'll help them out."

Raoul's brow creased as worry clouded his usually relaxed features.  He leaned forward as he addressed the room.  "This is a dangerous road you're pushing us down Geryon.  What if it were you, what if it were any of us, as you said?  I'm not sure this is wise.  It changes us from a community of like minds allied in our cause, to a group of politicians vying for power, right hand outstretched in brotherhood even as our left hides the knife.  Am I the only one that thinks this is a bad idea?"

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
I believe only Kraken is available to engage this conversation, as the utopian terats would not have been invited.  Kraken however is free to join in.

---

This message was last edited by the GM at 07:27, Thu 22 Nov 2012.

The chirp of Raoul's phone cut through the silence before Geryon could snort an answer and Raoul held up a hand to forestall it. Almost no one had his private number (not the private one he had for people to find, the real private one), and most of them were seated in this room.

"Excuse me a moment." He said to room at large, then flicked open the phone. "Hello?"

"Tell them I may be a bitch, but I am not uppity."

The line went dead, and Raoul looked at the phone for a few seconds, blinking in bemusement.

"Ah..."

Raoul's phone call left the room silent.  Nearly all of the pantheon had adequate hearing to listen in on the call, and it gave them cause to reconsider the course of their conversation.  When conversation resumed, it was more subdued, and no one mentioned removing Impetus or Solitaire from the council.  Gravitas though was still a matter for debate, as his crippled state paired with reduced abilities presented difficulties, for multiple reasons.  The group was leaning toward agreement that was "sufficiently impaired" should not have a leadership role in the organization, though the meaning of "sufficiently" was still hotly contested.

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
Unless Kraken, or Zero if he ever peaks in, have something to say this will end with Gravitas being given an honorary position within the Teragen, until he has the power to reclaim his seat.  Aside from that, unless anyone has anything to add to the others topics under discussion, the plot will move forward.

---

The Stratosphere in Las Vegas.  Sunrise.  A few weeks after the Bahrain incident.

Messages had been sent out to Impetus, Solitaire, and Gravitas a few days ago, asking them to meet Gale on top of the Stratosphere.  It was her usual place for a rendezvous that required a little privacy, and she wasn't sure what situation the others would be in after all the fallout.  The note hadn't said why, just the place and time.

She was standing there waiting, arms crossed, pacing a little.  She seemed nervous, and would only relax once all three of them were there.  A clawed hand ran through her blue hair.

"Um, so, the reason I've asked you here is because I've decided to leave Utopia.  After all the betrayals and secrets,"  she paused, a deep breath.  "I just--I just can't do that anymore.  And I avoided learning about the Teragen because I thought it was some nova cult."  An embarrassing admission.  Her friends here had helped start the movement after all.  Between Prodigal's followers and the Michaelists, it had seemed reasonable at the time.  But now...  "I thought Utopia was where I belonged and all I needed."

She stumbled forward with her request.  "But if Utopia was wrong, maybe Teragen is right.  I--I want to learn more about it.  I want you guys to teach me.  I wouldn't trust anyone else."

Imp dropped out of the sky and landed near Gale.  He knew she'd notice him coming, but landing at a distance was just polite.  He walked over to join Gale and whoever had arrived.  "Teras has really helped me to define myself, but you have to do this for the right reasons.  Utopia has its flaws; big, disgusting flaws.  But overall it's about helping the world to be a better place via cooperation.  The Teragen has none of that, each of us is our own nation, beholden to only ourselves and those we wish to be beholden to, each of us makes our own world better, if that helps someone else then fine.  Don't join Teragen just because you're looking for a place to belong, because, at our core, that's not what we're about.  Many also think we're a cult that revolves around Divis, and there is a disturbingly large element that does so.  They don't get much respect from people outside of a very select circle, and not much from Divis himself.  He is first among equals.  He has more power than any thing or anyone I have ever met.  He is godlike, but he is not a god and has never claimed to be.  He's much closer to being an adult, while most novas these days are either self absorbed, petulant children, or adolescents trying to find their path.  He encourages the second, and exhorts the first to rise above.
Also, join is the wrong word.  Yes, that's how the sycophants and hangers on see it, but it's more than that.  It's embracing the concepts of self determination, of your raw potential, and being true to what it is that you think you should do with your life.  Some take that as being an excuse to destroy, as was so sadly demonstrated at Bahrain, but I know that's not you.  I won't speak for my friends here, but for me that pursuit of self determination has lead me to stay in Utopia and to help to build a better future for all of us, human and nova alike.  I do so not because they tell me to, but because I think it's the right thing to do.  Many within Teragen have issues with me doing so, saying I'm disloyal or a monkey lover or other, harsher things.  They have the right to question me, just as I have the right to dismiss them and continue doing what I think is right.  If they want to come after me, well, that's their right too.  You have the power to do anything, to become anything.  If teras is the right road for you then I shall embrace you as a sister.  If the philosophy of anarchy is distasteful, i respect you no less."

"Nah, Imp's not wrong on any point per se. But..." Solitaire said from her perch on the radio tower. "The Teragen are more of a philosophy club meets a really dysfunctional family. We are just a bunch of people exploring what is means to be Novas. The only true core tenet is the acknowledgement that each of us is largely a law unto ourselves. We have far more in common with the UN than the general populace. Each of us has our own views, goals and motivations, and we each pursue them as we please. We have our rivalries and quarrels and cliques like any other group, it's not really any more complicated than high school." Solitaire laughed. "Teras is a personal philosophy that recognizes that really the only one stopping you from doing what you wish to do with your life is you. However, this should not be viewed as a free pass to do whatever you wish, as everyone else has the same right. Those who choose to go interpret the Null Manifesto so should either be very cautious or very strong, since somebody will take offense and do something about it."

"Someone like me," Gravitas said ominously. He'd flown in as well, having presumably been somewhere nearby. "Teras is, I think, separable from the Teragen. With all the upheaval currently happening within that group, I can understand why people wouldn't want to be a member. I only maintain my own membership in order to keep up some contacts and to try, usually in vain, to steer the organization onto a path I think is correct." He pauses, its almost a sigh.

"Teras is a means of personal evolution. The Teragen philosophy is largely summarized by the Null Manifesto, however, that does not necessarily illustrate Teras. As a nova, you've undergone considerable change from your life as a baseline, physically, mentally, and at a quantum level. As you grow in power you only change more - I'm sure you've noticed that already. Your powers evolve, slowly but surely. Perhaps they gain in potency, or you discover you can do something new. Physical mutations sometimes accompany this, often at the time of eruption, as in your case, but it can also happen later on."

"Teras is a philosophy of embracing that change, and even encouraging it in yourself. But not change at random - it is focused and even forced auto-evolution. The three of us and a handful of others have already seen the fruits of this effort. When we disappeared after the Columbian conflict, we returned different. That was a result of the chrysalis - a sort of second eruption. Unlike your first eruption though, it is much slower, and you have a good deal more control over what changes take place. As far as I can tell - though I really need more data points to decrease variance - physical mutation or over quantum manifestations are often the cost. Teras is, for better or worse, a philosophy of leaving your baseline humanity behind forever."

As expected, she had asked three different friends here, and gotten three different answers to her question.  But that wasn't a bad thing.  Each answer told her more about them, and about herself.  She took a moment to contemplate each of their answers, and form her next words.

"Imp, you can see right through me, sometimes," she started.  "It's true I've been looking for a place to belong since I erupted.  I had to give up everything: my hometown, my friends, my family, even my name.  Being one of the first novas, I didn't have anyone to look to for guidance.  I had no direction."

"I tried staying connected to baselines, and that has proved...perilous."  Why was she trying to be diplomatic?  These people knew her story.  "Actually, they hate me.  And I'm not too fond of them right now either.  I don't want them trying to make me follow their rules when they won't follow their own.  When I've gone through so much for them and they still hate me for no reason."  The anger she had been keeping tamped down made a brief appearance.  Wings puffed out slightly, hands curled into fists.  She found herself staring at her feet as she brought it back under control.  "I know that's not part of Teras.  I just want you to know where I'm coming from.  I'm not good at keeping secrets.  I wouldn't be able to stay at Utopia without some of that coming through."

"The best thing Utopia gave me was you guys.  You and Comstock and Phantasm and Flare and the rest.  You're my new family.  My true family."  She hoped they felt the same.  But she realized she was straying from the topic at hand.  Saying things that she probably shouldn't say out loud too much.  "Sorry, I'm rambling."

Another deep breath to recollect herself.  Most of what they were telling her rang true in her core.  But she still had some doubts.  "I've been running from my nova nature for a long time.  I don't want to do that anymore.  I want to embrace it, see what I can do if I didn't have the past holding me back.  I've been thinking about it for a long time.  But, I don't want to be alone either.  I don't want to have to be an island."  There it was.  Her biggest fear laid bare.  The truest sign that she trusted them more than anybody.  "I know that kind of goes against 'self-sufficient'.  Is that too big of a conflict?"

"No Terat will judge you for what you are. You'll probably only get judged for what you do, but that's life. Honestly, your stance on Baselines is largely irrelevant to Teras. The only commonality is that none of us pretend that we are not more than they are. Like them, hate them, ignore them. Its just not important to us. I mean, it's not like they can do much of anything to us anyway. Like any place you go, you will find both friends and enemies in the Teragen, but pretty much all of us will back each other against anybody else. Like I said, big disfunctional family."
This message was last edited by the player at 21:02, Mon 02 Sept 2013.

Imp tousled her hair, "The feeling's entirely mutual, kiddo.  My mother is alive, but i have less in common with her now than I did when i wasn't a nova.  I love her, but don't relate to her on any level." A large, blue cooler floated in out of nowhere and settled on the roof nearby, its lid opened revealing a picnic set from a high end local Italian restaurant that began to unpack and arrange itself on the red and white blanket.  "I find that conversations like this are always better over a meal, as long as the weather cooperates." He looked at Gale, one eyebrow raised, and that familiar grin on his face.  "I do need to point out that we're not giving you the full picture of teras, as one leg of the tripod is not represented here.  Sol and I are both Marvels, our image of ourselves is inextricably linked to being more than human in very visible, very obvious ways.  We fly, immediately garner attention wherever we are, and have amazing hair." He took a sip of the chilled 2005 Domaine Stirn Cuvée Prestige Sigolsheim that had poured itself into the four glasses that then hovered over to wait attentively near the attendees' left hands. "Portents like Grav are altogether different.  Cerebral, generally not flashy unless they have a reason to be, and generally far more interested in the esoteries of being quantum powered gods than in using said esoteries for obvious effect.  The other child of teras is the Monster, like Geryon, Shrapnel, and others.  They pursue enlightenment and evolution by being proactive, rather than reactive, and define themselves as nova by eliminating everything that defined themselves as human.  This generally takes physical form, but also mental form as they seek to free themselves from the thought patterns that made them human.  As is their right."  He took another sip of the Pinot Gris, "each of us is an island, as we're all too different from each other to share more than aspects of a certain philosophy.  Many of us don't need to breathe, eat, sleep, walk, use our hands to open bottles, all the things that gives commonality to humanity.  What we are is islands in an archipelago, some close together, others very far apart.  The big island is of course Divis, although he's been away for quite some time."
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 06:11, Tue 03 Sept 2013.

Gravitas smirked. "Mal's practically a continent if you're calling us islands. Certainly, he's the most marvelous of all marvels." He shook his head. "But, yes, there are three basic tactics to pursuing Teras. Despite some misgivings, I am forced to admit that each has value, at least to the philosophy as a whole." He eyed the offered drink and plucked it out of the air. His cybernetic fingers seemed to be back, though the way he shifted his body weight suggested he still hadn't replaced his leg.

"To elaborate a bit, the portent philosophy is largely about self-exploration. Teras as a whole is, really - and I admit that aspects of each of its divergent paths are present in the others. Many of the other portents I've met take a long view, though. As a nova, you've already become something more than human. Most of us - Teragen or not - continue to evolve in small ways after that. A portent asks the questions, 'Does this self-evolution ever end? If so, where?' Speaking at least for myself, I am always pushing against the boundaries of my own abilities. Those boundaries definitely exist. However, they're not fixed. If I push hard enough, they edge back just a bit more."

He shrugged and took a sip from his drink. "Does the MR node actually grant infinite potential, as some people hyperbolicly claim? 'Infinite' is a big word, but there's still only one way to test it. We have to try."

Phantasm knew there was a meeting... That, or there was some disaster, but she figured they'd call her for that.  When 4 of her friends went off the radar at the same time it was pretty obvious something was happening though.  She had a good guess what the meeting was about too, and she had questions of her own. Running on a hunch about where they might be (Gale liked the high places, and Phantasm knew the woman's habits fairly well), Phantasm portaled to the Stratosphere and began the climb up, shaping eufiber suction cups to make things easier.

On her way up the side of the building she got to hear some of the conversation, but she made no attempt to hide her presence.  She wasn't here to eavesdrop after all, so it was only polite to let them hear her as she approached.  When she reached the top, she hooked one arm over the ledge and propped herself up, looking pointedly at Gale. "I understand if you want to be alone here, but I have questions too.  If you don't mind me joining in.  If you want privacy, I'm happy to leave though."  She didn't comment on how she knew about the meeting or the location, since by now it should have been obvious that sometimes she just knew things.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:00, Tue 03 Sept 2013.

Gale accepted the glass of wine with a more relaxed smile.  Leave it to Imp to know just how to make a situation less awkward.  "Looks like another beautiful morning in Las Vegas to me," she replied, with a flick of her wrist. Any wisps of cloud left in the sky seemed to disappear almost too quickly.  Wine at sunrise seemed a bit strange, but she was a nova.  It wasn't like it was going to get her drunk.  The little things seemed to be easier to conquer than the bigger steps she was about to take.

The winged woman went quiet as she heard someone approaching from below.  Prodigal?  No, he would just fly.  She couldn't think of who else would think to come up here at this time.  That was why she had picked it.  When Phantasm's head poked over the edge, she blinked in surprise.  " 'Tasm?"  She walked over and offered her friend a hand up.  "I didn't know you'd be interested..." she said somewhat guiltily, like a child with their hand caught in the cookie jar.  It did feel a bit like going behind the others' backs, but she hadn't wanted to make a big scene.

Returning to the picnic blanket and the conversation, she launched into her next question.  "But what about Grav's punishment of Geryon?  You said it's like a big dysfunctional family, but how can you all say you subscribe to the same philosophy if there's big rifts like that?  Doesn't it end up just being a battle of 'might makes right'?"  The idea of being lumped in with the likes of Geryon or Shrapnel was distasteful to her.  She was pretty sure she wouldn't follow this Monster path anyway, but there was a real worry on her part that some would hold her past experiences against her.  She probably seemed pretty weak compared to the rest of the Terats, despite whatever might happen in the future now that she had her powers back.

"I've already said what I have to say on that topic," Gravitas said without emotion. "The others can say what they like."

Phantasm took the offered hand, glad she wasn't seen as intruding.  She kept her reply simple, so as not to interrupt.  "I didn't know I was either, but it dawned on me that no matter how much I care about the world, I'm not quite connected to it either."  With that, she took a seat on the roof, legs stretched out as she leaned back on her elbows to watch and listen.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:05, Wed 04 Sept 2013.

Gale winced a little at Gravitas's comment.  "Sorry.  I didn't mean it like that.  But what's to stop somebody coming and doing the same to you for what you did to him?  Where is the limit of 'everyone can do what they want'?"

"Hey, P, I didn't know you were intersted in the whole transcendance thing.  Wine?" Another glass lifted out of the cooler. "Really, this is what teras started as, novas with the same kinds of questions talking about what those questions would mean for the future." Sandwiches and cold salads and various bite sized morsels began assembling themselves on plates that floated over to those present.  Watching Imp work, it was clear that he was enjoying the excercise immensely, keeping all those things happening at the same time.  "Gale, I know you want to believe that there's more to it than might makes right, but really, that's all there is.  Might of ideas, might of communities, might of interpersonal connection.  We were unable to limit our more thuggish terats from embarking on a path that will lead to the ruin of us all using persuasion or reason.  The threat of violence didn't work either.  It took Grav's rather artful display of brains over brawn to make it credible, and I predict that the intensity of nova on human violence will go down because of it.  After Pax, 'Stock, and Sol left Utopia there was no sherrif in town.  Geryon could take most of T2MA in a fight, and has.  Now people like Shrapnel know that there are power players that won't put up with such misanthropy.
The real problem that we have is Pax' vow, but I'm pretty sure that I can talk him around.  If not, then I will bring other pressures to bear."  He popped an olive into his mouth. "P, what ideas did you want to discuss?"
This message was last edited by the player at 03:52, Wed 04 Sept 2013.

Phantasm wanted to know the answer to a great many things, but she didn't particularly want to ask any questions.  "I think Gale's asking all the right things.  Not sure I have much to add, though I am curious about these archetypes.  Where would you slot us into your paradigm?  And why can't you just be all of them, or maybe take them in sequence?"  There was more, a lot more, but she wasn't ready to ask deeper questions yet.  Questions revealed to much about the one doing the asking, and despite her love for her friends, there were parts of her she wanted to keep hidden... parts where she kept monsters chained up inside her soul.

"It's not where we would slot you into our various paradigms that is important, it's which of the archetypes you most resonate with.  The archetypes are expressions of your innermost self, but no two novas are the same, even within archetypes.  Sol and I, for example, are both Marvels, but how we express ourselves is very, very different.  Neither is more or less true to the archetype than the other.  Chrysalis helps you to discover who you really are, and will accentuate certain traits while repressing others.  Moving from one archetype to the other would requre you to totally re-write your core self, in major ways.  There are few individuals I can think of that have had this happen to them.  Shrapnel is one.
Before her chrysalis she was less consumed by fury and more interested in growing beyond her baseline self, thus might easily have emerged as a marvel.  now she's truly bloodthirsty and wants nothing more than to rip every shred of humanity out of herself, and kill as many baselines as possible.  She became the Monster in her Chrysalis.  I think Divis might have changed as well.  He has obvious traits of both Marvel, and Portent, and some ideas that have found a home with many Monsters, perhaps it's because he's further along than the rest of us, and has a different concept of his own evolution. I truly don't know."

"All novas have aspects of all three archetypes within them. The monster that leaves humanity behind, the marvel that ascends from the masses as a beacon - a beacon of or for what varies by individual - and a portent of things to come, a living illustration of what the future holds for humanity as a whole. We've found that some focus on one of these three aspects helps to guide and control our evolution. That focus does not mean that the other two archetypes are not still present."

He thought for a moment about what Phantasm said and continued, "Switching between them is possible, as we've seen it. I'm not sure how deliberate it has been. The archetypes are more of a label we applied ex post facto to things we'd been observing among our number as we began to apply the philosophy. Most of us didn't make any sort of conscious decision about which to pursue or apply to our lives - we were already doing those things by the time we noticed that such a distinction could be made. That, to me, seems the best course of action for those wishing to pursue Teras from the ground up. Don't worry too much about which of these archetypes you're embodying - for all we know, they may not even be an exhaustive list of possibilities. If Teras can be pursued in a fourth, different, way, or even a fifth? Well, who are we to disagree with someone else's personal evolutionary process? If it works, it works."

Gale nodded as she listened to Grav and Impetus's answers to Phantasm's question.  It was a valid train of thought.  Thinking back to her school days and scientific classifications, it made sense.  Teras was a new and emerging philosophy, it was only natural that some of the original ideas would need to be tweaked.  And like other philosophies, she didn't have to agree with everyone else who claimed to follow it.  What Grav said about pursuing Teras in your own way made a lot more sense than all the stuff in the Null Manifesto.

"This Marvel category sounds like it suits me best.  There's nothing like the rush I get when I'm flying, or creating storms out of nothing."  There hadn't been a real good fight since Bahrain, so she hadn't been able to retest the limits of her abilities, but she was pretty sure she had gotten stronger.  A lot stronger.  "What about this Chrysalis thing though?  I remember when Sol did it, but I didn't really get it at the time.  I don't have to get hit by a nuke again to do it, do I?"  The idea of being able to rewrite her own journey was appealing, but not 6-months-in-a-plastic-bubble appealing.

"I don't think we have enough data points to be able to say how exactly that works or what, exactly, triggers it. The three of us all went into chrysalis shortly after that incident, but I think that was more of a side effects of the actions we took before and during that campaign than the amount of radiation we were exposed to." He shrugged as if in partial apology for how vague his answer was, and glanced at the other two who'd experienced it for their input.

"There are very few novas that have entered chrysalis after getting nuked.  3 to be precise, every other nova that has has done so without nuclear encouragement.  Teras is a process of mind over body.  By acting in ways that reinforced my self image, my node affects the way my body responds to the quantum energies emanating from my node.  Once that process reached a certain point i felt an overwhelming need to enter chrysalis, to allow the mental changes to better affect the physical ones.  What I wasn't expecting, perhaps foolishly, was that my psyche would also undergo significant change.  Some things were enhanced, like my willingness to put my beliefs into action regardless of how certain others may feel, whereas other things became more subdued.  It took some getting used to."

In the wake of the events in Bahrain, divisions within the Teragen movement cause it to fracture.  When the in-fighting and debates settle, only three primary sub-factions remain: the Accord, the Sanctified, and the Dominion.  Led by Raoul Orzaiz, members of the Accord, sometimes referred to unflatteringly as apologists, believe in the potential for co-existence between Novas and Baselines; while they still hold to an ideology of evolution and nova autonomy, they see nothing inherently wrong in co-operation with baselines and they believe that novas should live by clearly defined rules created by their peers.  The Sanctified, led by Scripture, see Teras as a holy path that leads to spiritual, as well as physical, transcendence; Sanctified Terats have close ties to the Host of Eternity, though they care more for their own transcendence than for shepherding mortal souls.  The Dominion, the most extreme Teragen sub-faction, holds to nova-supremacist ideals and actively works toward nova control of the planet while adhering to harsh training techniques instigated by its de facto leader Shrapnel to spur self-evolution.  The remainder of the movement, Teras or the Unaligned, eschew the intricacies of Teragen politics for the simple messages of nova superiority, rebellion, and self-transformation; Manus Aequitas and Narcosis share power over this large portion of the movement, and are rumored to share much more.

The movement as a whole clings together by a few strong threads: anti-nova sentiment pushing from outside the movement, and the philosophy of chrysalis binding those within.  The Sanctified serve as  mediators and educators within the movement, assuring it does not collapse completely, while the Accord plays damage control and attempts to obfuscate the worst acts of the Dominion, if only to prevent outright war.  The Dominion caries the “do as thou wilt” philosophy to its most extreme ends, and despises, to varying degrees, those not working toward the Cause.  While a Dominion Terat might defend an Accord member against an unruly mob of baselines, it would only be for the sake of punishing the Accord member in private for the affront of making the Teragen appear weak.

Above all the conflict in the group, Divis Mal sits on his technological throne, observing the world from afar.  After sensing a disturbance within the ebb and flow of the earth's quantum field, a secret he announced only to the Pantheon itself, Divis Mal took control over the recently completed international moon base.  He still allows baselines to come and go but holds complete control over the facility, which he nominally chose to "pay" for in homage to "an old friend."  As the moon base was not the property of any international power, there were no immediate repercussions to Mal’s action.  Only the group responsible for the base’s creation made mention of any action against the nova demigod, and the combination of Mal’s terrible, sudden presence in their boardroom, and his gift of invaluable quantum-resonance devices for use in future space endeavors, left them little choice but to move past their loss.

The increasingly rare Pantheon meetings are held on the station, while a pensive Mal watches his children in silence.

Teragen Structure and Notable Members
Pantheon
1. Gravitas (Accord)
2. Hell Kraken (Accord)
3. Raoul Orzaiz (Accord)
4. Bounty (Accord)
5. The Mathematician (Accord)
6. Leviathan (Sanctified)
7. Sin Eater (Sanctified)
8. Jeremiah Scripture (Sanctified)
9. Solitaire (Teras)
10. Manus Aequitas (Teras)
11. Narcosis (Teras)
12. Shrapnel (Dominion)

Lost Pantheon Members
1. Impetus (RETIRED)
2. Geryon (MISSING/DEAD)
3. Dr. Zero (MISSING)
4. Carolyn Fong (MISSING/DEAD)


Teras Undivided: Though anyone unaligned fits here, from firm believers in the Null Manifesto to the various groupies drawn in by Narcosis’s charms, there are two smaller divisions within this group as well.  The “Cult of Mal” lead by Manus Aequitas and “The House of Cards” made by the Solitaire.  The House of Cards is the primary method by which people disappear if they’ve found trouble, and it also serves as eyes and ears for the Movement in general.  Solitaire’s project is still very much a community effort and a reflection of her philosophy, but individual Tables have, at times, been turned into personal gangs or contact rings for other novas.  The Houses serve the additional purpose of bridging the gap between humanity and nova, but in a more organic and basic fashion than the diplomacy of the Accord.  The Cult of Mal, by contrast, focuses on the demagogue at the center of the movement, holding Divis Mal as the pinnacle of nova ideals and achievement and urging others to ask “What would Divis Mal do?”  Mal’s cult of personality resides in the general Teras movement because the goals of the group seem simply to be the idolization of Mal and forwarding Mal’s dreams, rather than moving toward personal understanding (Sanctified) or a complex political agenda (Accord, Dominion).
Key Location:
Blackburn Hotel
The Archon
Goals:
-Train newly erupted novas and liberate tainted or abused novas
-Recruit new members to the movement
-Counter Utopian efforts, destroy their reputation, and oppose them at any opportunity
-Fight for nova rights and superiority
-Enjoy the fruits of nova existence
Novas of Note:
1. Manus Aequitas (Leader)
2. Narcosis (Co-Leader)
3. Solitaire (“Fuck your ranking system and your artificial divisions”)
4. The Apothecary (Adherent)
5. Synapse (Adherent)
6. Clarion (Groupie)
7. Sloppy Joe (Groupie)
8. Gale (Adherent)

Dominion: Shrapnel is doing a lot of recruiting among Elites.  She is also building a nova homeland in Australia, starting from some old bunkers in the outback.  Unlike Tarik’s Bandanah, this is more akin to a Brotherhood-of-Steel Bunker-Vault.  Someplace she can stockpile weapons and recruits for when the war comes.  Reduced in number since its parent groups the Primacy and Nova Vigilance were all but dismantled by Impetus’s speech and Gravitas’s sentencing of Geryon Bahrain, the Dominion is a lean and mobile group, all the more driven for having its lesser members defect to other factions.
Key Location:
Club Zmei
Various secured bunkers
Goals:
-Destroy Utopia and any organization or individual that opposes Teras or the One Race in general, including many Elite organizations (but not the elites themselves)
-End or dominate baseline humanity
-Increase Nova population
-Increase the power of Teras (usually in a literal sense but also through other means when viable)
Novas of Note:
1 Shrapnel (Commander)
2. Confederate (2nd in Command)
3. Natalya “Swarm Queen” Dornova (Lieutenant)
4. Epoch (Lieutenant)
5. Boom-Boom (Soldier)
6. Matador (Soldier
7. Gauze (Soldier

Sanctified: A rarified group that does little aggressive recruiting.  Leviathan and his monsters are one side of the coin, those who want to understand their nature.  The other side are those with an academic or spiritual interest in taint, quantum and what it means to be nova.  The Sanctified look to the ailing within the Teragen, and those who stick with it have a ‘calling’ that keeps them on the path of Truth.
Key Location:
The Catacombs/Cathedral
Goals:
-Forward unity within Teras
-Foster an understanding of Teras within all members of the Teragen movement
-Find personal Transcendence through Teras
Novas of Note:
1. Scripture (Teacher)
2. Leviathan (Disciple)
3. Sin-Eater (Disciple)
4. Turncoat (Devotee. Unraveling sanity held together by Scripture and Sin-Eater)
5. Feathered Serpent (Ascetic)

Accord: The most important rule among the accord is “The Teragen is not your personal army.”  Almost anything else is up for debate, as the group attempts to create the rules by which nova society will govern itself.  The group does accept political dissidents, but what matters is an attempt and interest in building with baselines rather than against them.  A lot of groupies find their way here, since nova celebrity has become a fashionable thing.
Key Location:
The Villa
Goals:
-Ensure the safety of the One Race by preventing unnecessary intra-species and inter-species conflict
-Create rules for Nova interactions that move beyond “might is right”
-Protect baseline rights… though strident voices within the movement argue the limits and tone of those rights
-Use baseline society to forward the Teragen movement
Novas of Note:
1. Raoul Orzaiz (Facilitator)
2. The Mathematician (Speaker)
3. Gravitas (Speaker)
4. Bounty (Speaker)
5. Hell Kraken (Speaker)
6. Tarik ibn’Mahmoud (Peer)
7. Bridgette Caulder (Peer)
8. Jester (Peer)

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Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
Edited first post in thread to include this info.  feel free to continue the prior conversation if you please.  Gale, I wasn't sure if your leanings placed you as part of the movement, or just a student of its philosophies, so feel free to let me know if you want slotted in somewhere on the lists.

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This message was last edited by the GM at 04:43, Tue 17 Sept 2013.

The Second Coming
Meeting of the Pantheon of the Teragen - February 2008

Orzaiz: Well, I believe that concludes our—

Divis Mal: All due apologies for my late arrival.

Mathematician: Divis …

Mal: Yes, hello.  A pleasure to see you again.  Most of you, anyway.

Mathematician: But …

Mal: Fortuitous, isn’t it, that I should emerge on the eve of this meeting?  I did not know it then, but I must have felt your call, your need for guidance.  The time is now, as they say …

Manus Aequitas: Pedro, it was his right to preside over this meeting!  Why didn’t you tell us had emerged from Chrysalis?

Scripture: Because he did not know, Manus.  Only I knew.  But I understood his need for us to speak.  To find our own voice for Mal to hear, cacophonous and befuddled as it is.

Mal: Spoken like one who knows truth uncommonly well.   And that, beloved Jeremiah, is both a blessing and a curse as you well know.  Calm yourself Manus, I have come at last.  Not because the way is lost, but because the path is now clear.  I look across this table at the Pantheon of the Teragen.  Some Marvels, some Portents, some Monsters – but all of the One Race.

To date, you have wandered through the forest of uncertainty, novas drowning in a sea of mediocrity.  Some run blindly, cower in the shadows and wait for night to devour them.  Others, shackled by their perceptions, stagnate and become like the trees around them – tall, proud and potent, but unmoving, rooted in time, in understanding and in place.  Destruction is but another birth.  In the fires to come our numbers will diminish, but our strength will grow manifold.  The world has yet to witness the One Race’s true potential.  Some of you counsel war.  Some of you counsel patience.  Some of you counsel baseline genocide.  Some of you counsel the establishment of a novarchy over the nulls.

And all of you are certain that you see the true way.  And yet we know, don’t we, that this cannot be the case.  I must confess some small disappointment at this situation.

Manus: Divis, we—

Mal: I asked for dragons and thunder and raging seraphim.  And I get petty, unkind, backstabbing children who snivel and squall when they don’t get their way.  I do not want sniveling, squalling children.  I do not want toadies.  I do not want worshippers.  ‘What does he want?’ you ask.  ‘Oh dear, scurry scurry scurry, what could it be what does he want?  What does Divis Mal want?’

I want equals.  You repay your teacher poorly if you remain always students.  You think that it lies in the power, and it does not lie in the power.  It lies in the understanding.  It lies in the enlightenment.  Of which only Jeremiah Scripture and the Solitaire appear to have attained any modicum.  You are not the equals I have been waiting for.  You are baselines with undeserved power and boorish, petty natures.  When will you speak to the angels with me?  WHEN?!  Is this all riddles to you?  I cannot speak in a language that you can comprehend.  Perhaps, it isn’t meant to be.  [Sigh]  I am understating things when I say that this is not what I had hoped to find upon my emergence.

Sin-Eater: Mal, we-

Shrapnel: What would you have us do?  Utopia is hurting now.  The zips respect us again.  To fight against the oppressors-

Mal: Sharp-tongued Shrapnel, I would have you turn your perceptions inward and seek what is godlike within yourself.  I am getting tired of this role.  I am a visionary, a warrior and a lover of life.  But unlike my father, I do not enjoy the role of teacher.

Orzaiz: Divis, you know I am the first to recognize you for what you are, but before you left we were a young movement.  I do not deny the fact that I still think the Null Manifesto jumped the gun, but now I understand why you did it.  It brought us together.  Before the Manifesto, before Colombia, I would never have envisioned a gathering like this at all…

Mal: This is why I am here, Raoul.  This is a celebration, the glorious culmination of events that began years ago.  I do not expect you to understand everything just yet, but let trust be the bridge that gets you across.

Orzaiz: And that’s the problem.  You ask us to trust, and we do, but I foresee a slight problem here.  The Teragen was once more than you and the Null Manifesto.  It had no leader, no cohesiveness, and no hope for growth.  But you’ve given us direction and solidarity.  You are the heart of the Teragen, but you are also the linchpin that keeps us going.  In your absence, we lose our focus.  I fear that our direction and solidarity begin and end with you.

Manus: Mal IS Teras.  He embodies our potential.  Look at him!  You each see him differently because he is what we have to become!  You want the Teragen to part from Mal, Orzaiz?  We are NOTHING without Mal.  You know it.  Everyone does.  Mal, are you going to sit and let a monkey like Orzaiz talk like this?

Mal: Of course I am, my brother.  Because he is right.  You are my children, but to become my equals I must let you grow beyond me.  You have blossomed magnificently.  For the nonce, all that you need from me is my presence and my words.  The time for trimming and channeling is yet to come.

But our adversaries move against us, and we come to a crossroads.  The gyre is widening, the world spins on, and soon we will outgrow our role as slaves and problem solvers.  The baselines will, in time, feel they have no choice but to strike at us.  The essence of our future is struggle.  And neither the sensual sweetness of Narcosis nor the grasping tentacle of the Kraken will avert this.  The Null Manifesto was their first warning, a warning that has been ignored or grievously misunderstood.  My intervention in Colombia was their second, and yet the nulls persist in their oppression, as I knew they would.  And the good Hand of Justice provided a third warning at Bahrain.  And this too has produced only fear and more violence.  We Terats must demonstrate to all, nova and baseline alike, the path our race must take.

We start with Utopia.

Members of the so-called Dominion, you have my blessing to carry on.  Create a promised land.  Be my terrible angels, and deliver my wrath to those showing insufficient respect to the One Race.  Seek out the missing Geryon, if you can, for in his durance he has surely learned much of Nature and Control, much that he can teach to others.  You are our strength, the Harvesters of our future.  In time, it will fall to you to reap what we have sown.  And know this: it is better to be a monster to be a slave, but it is far better to be a god than a monster.  Monsters can only destroy, while gods can destroy and create.  Do not so worship the monster in yourselves that you misplace the seeds of your godhood.  It would be a shame to miss your apotheosis.

Gravitas, Pedro, Raoul and Kraken, and others who would live among the baselines: take care in your next actions.  Take care that your Accord with the nulls remains strong, for it will be their last defense against my judgment.  Build a body of law for our people, if you must, but do not mistake the laws of baselines for the celestial laws of the One Race.

Raoul, continue to be the sharp point of the wedge.  Get them accustomed to honoring us. Walk among them, charm them with wit and humor, and allay their most ludicrous of fears.

Narcosis, sweet, sensuous Narcosis, telegenic angel, misunderstood and ridiculed.  Take my message to the masses.  Have them worship you and, through you, me.  Make them love the One Race more than they love their own, and the battle will be won before it even commences.

Hell Kraken, continue to make yourself a baron of their industry.  Build them toys and tools, and let them labor on your behalf.  Let them feel secure with their weapons, comforted in the belief that such slings and arrows have meaning before a god.  If Raoul cannot assuage their fears and Narcosis cannot win their love, than their reliance on you will make them weak.

Solitaire, you are as constant as the North Star, and the guardian angel of the lost.  Let your Houses shepherd the One Race to safety.  You are my sword, and understand me best.  Listen for the word, and be ready when it comes.

And you, Manus Aequitas, shall be the shield of the One Race.  Its Champion against oppression and my Prophet upon the Earth.  Judge not in swiftness, and give the Accord time to realize that their experiment must end in vain.

Jeremiah, Sin-Eater, Leviathan, it is to you and your Sanctified that others come for guidance.  Give it freely, but know that I am back.  Know that I will be there, watching you from above, and that you may make the pilgrimage to meet me if you find yourself in need of further guidance.

Leviathan: In the sky?

Mal: No, young Leviathan.  Upon the moon.  Were I too near, this Pantheon would rely upon me when it should be focused upon its own apotheosis.  Were I too far, the baselines would become emboldened and believe themselves capable of oppressing with impunity.  Upon the moon, I shall contemplate the song of the stars and be able to visit the earth whenever I wish.  And all the world will know that their Angel of Destruction looms near.

Today, we are all brothers and sisters, novas and fellow Terats.  Tomorrow a new day dawns.  Those who do not have the conviction will fall as victims.  There will come a time when sacrifices are needed.  Only the selfish will hide.  Some among you have forgotten what Teras truly means and where it leads.  You now have a chance to find your way back onto the path.  If you do not, you will lose more than your way.

No one masters the One Race.  Those who betray the movement or falter in their faith have no place among us.  Look around, to the Terat before you, to the Terat beside you and to the Terat wihin you.  Know that in the years to come, friends will become foes, foes allies and the Teragen stronger for it.

This is the essence of Teras: the strong must prevail, the wise muse preside, and the enlightened must guide us onward.

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Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
OOC: I've modified the speech from page 80-82 of the Teragen book to fit our canon.

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This message was last edited by the GM at 03:55, Mon 16 Sept 2013.