Jean shrugged.

"As long as everyone is happy... and cleansing sounds quite clever, then that is that."

Nazism was the last thing she expected to hear in the conversation.  The coverage varied from newspaper to radio.  Even bar patrons had differing viewpoints, if they bothered to make them.

"I haven't read that book OR met any Nazis... at far as I know.  Perhaps there some among my audience on occasion?  Most people I talk to seem to think its a European fad.  One person I trust is a bit more alarmed... thinking that singling out a certain kind of people could be a precursor to what gifted individuals could face."

Of course it was Charles...

"I take it you have some thoughts?"

Jean suspected that Monet would talk about the Muslim perspective, but was also interested to see if she had a personal one.

"In some ways Hitler's rise to power is as bad an example of lack if leadership and incompetance as the Prohibition" Monet observed. "World war 1 started as a family squabble and got out of control. The Germans lost and the 'allies' decided to punish them. Well guess what happens?"

"Hitler appeals to the politics of hate. He has immense personal charisma: he's certainly gifted, whether like ourselves I couldn't tell you. But he's the one in a hundred million that has a spark of magic about him."

"It's not clear in Mein Kampf where his hatred for the Jews comes from. It has said 'they are like germs'. At the moment he's settling for kicking them out of Germany. He has a 'pecking order' of races. The Germanic are the most superior. The germs ... the jews ... at the bottom. He's written that the race can only be strong if it is pure. So people with heriditary diseases are harmful, as are people with any physical or mental disability."

"You're familiar with the Ermächtigungsgesetz? Signed this March?" Monet asked "It gives Hitler as Chancellor the ability to enact legislation without the approval of parliament. That's normally known as a dictatorship"

"So I think my view is that you have a dictator with no controls or brakes on him. Who considers people who are not genetically 'pure' i.e. of Aryan stock similar to diseases, who has one of the biggest armies in Europe, and is acting on his beliefs using the tools of violence, hate and fear. His skill is in stiring up the politics of hate, and history teaches us that the hate will build upon itself. It doesn't take much imagination to see where this might go. I suspect we'll know a lot more where this is going this time next year"

"When you put it all that way, in such context..."

Jean was inwardly horrified that things were even worse than most people imagined.  She sincerely hoped it would not be a train wreck leading to war... or other countries adopting such leadership mechanisms.

"This does bring to mind things like conscription and how it might impact the gifted.  The media might downplay people with 'powers', but I've seen enough to know there are more than a few.  Adding 'enhanced' soldiers to a war could make for a very messy world.  And it might not be something we can walk back from.  Hmmm."

"Well we don't need to personally worry about conscription of course" Monet observed. Conscription was for men. Women were utterly prohibited from combat roles "And it's hard to see how the war in Europe will spread here."

"My worry isn't really the effect of people with powers if we do have a war. Sure they are better... but not that much better. And there aren't many of us. A modern tank is a lot more dangerous than I am for example. Sure there is a force multiplication caused by the ability to more easily deploy us, and we're better at some aspects of information distortion, but that's really it I think. My worry is the new shape of battle. As an example aeroplanes with bombs can extend far beyond the front line and attack civilians or factories in their homes. They are effectively undetectable if they fly at night. That's a new and scary capability. Wars are fought 'in the will' as much as anything. Who knows what that will happen?"

"But with any luck it won't get that far. There are natural feedback loops. If they work Hitler's dictatorial powers will be reduced or he'll be replaced as a result of internal in fighting." Monet gave a sigh "You know the natural state of a country is to be at war? If it's not you have to ask the question 'why not' and the answer is often a person. Hopefully someone will step up and stop this"

"I hope you're right about this Monet, truly."

Jean knew a boy who could destroy things with his eyes.  She hadn't seen Scott for a few years, but he could probably clear out tanks... if push came to shove.  Even aircraft could be downed with the right gifts, but there were definitely way more planes than gifted people.

"So how about some good news?  I feel if people can hang in for a little longer, prosperity might be around the corner.  America is starting to find its place in the world."

"Well we'll see" Monet said. She obviously hoped so too

"Hmm... good news. Well for me the first mosque just opened. I like what I see about SHIELD. I have actually met Nick Fury and he seemed a good man to me. A little driven perhaps. I wouldn't support him in shutting down a place like this or Club Heaven, but there are plenty of places that would benefit for it"

"For you of course, it's your Egyptologist. It will be nice to see if anything comes of that. Do you think he's gifted? He was remarkably perceptive..."

A mosque opening was good for its worshipers, but the SHIELD thing won over Jean's interest pretty damn quick.

"So he's a patriot then?  I believe that lower tier government people do things for the right reason, but unfortunately bad apples have a way of floating to the top.  With enough money, reprehensible people can become lawmakers.  And to retain power, they will compromise a lot."

Jean blinked when Marc came up and smiled in a somewhat guilty fashion.

"I think he has some special qualities, but whether he is gift, a prodigy, or something else... I don't yet know.  I hope to get the chance to find out."

Being a good telepath required patience and restraint.

"I don't know about 'patriot'. I do know he's an honest man. As incorruptible as you could every hope to get. And I don't see an ounce of compromise in him... well not against law breakers." Monet commented "I have a lot of respect for him. A hard man perhaps, but that's probably what's needed"

"And for what it's worth I liked Steve too. I wouldn't be surprised if you are correct"

"Anyway that's my 'things that are good'. What about your list?"

“I prefer hard and fair… not just hard.  Time will tell what Mr Fury’s true colours are.”

Jean then thought about her list, while ticking into her food.

“There isn’t a whole lot of good things, but I’m glad that things aren’t getting worse.  No war, no gifted scandals, normalisation of women and other ethnic people in movies and news.”

"There's no normalisation of 'Ethnic people' and women" Monet said sadly "The Jim Crow laws are getting stronger. Disenfranchisation is getting more legally binding. Name for me a single non white lead movie star. Show me a single strong female lead in a single movie"

"Sadly bigotry is as strong, or stronger, in the USA than anywhere. Separate schools and libraries and shops and even traveling compartment. 'Equal but different'. Not seeing either. People are people. And the facilities provided aren't close to 'equal'. And that's enshrined in law. If you aren't a male White Anglo Saxon Protestant then you are a second class citizen. If a citizen at all. Look at the recent act to take away citizenship from Puerto Ricans. 'You have to prove you were born here'. Guilty until proven innocent"

"But as you say, no war. No gifted scandals... although I think we aren't far from that"

“Maybe the actresses I’m thinking of are mixed race?  And yes, there’s a lot of room for improvement… in all places.  My point was that we don’t seem to be going backwards.  One day the right women and men will enact changes… show the masses that equality isn’t a hindrance, but an actual benefit.”

Jean had never considered herself a firebrand.  Sure, she pushed the envelope in some places, but overall her values were quiet, not loud.  And her optimism sometimes blinded her to the real nasty stuff out there.

"Like who?" Monet asked curiously "Really I'm not seeing a single female in a lead roll and capable of anything other than screaming or kissing. And not seeing any one other than white actors in any significant roll. Even the 'pretend blacks' just have shoe polish on their face"

"It's a nice aspirational goal you have there. I could get behind that." Monet commented. "It's a shame that a country with a super, if slightly misogynistic, first line to their constitution nearly a hundred and fifty years later doesn't live up to it. And in fact is driving away from that goal as fast as they can at the moment. If you doubt that you make like to try take a street car with me and see what happens"

Jean named one example... although whether she was correct or fooled by pretend blacks was another thing entirely.

"Clearly I'm the glass half full girl and your the glass half empty one, hehe.  OK new topic... something not controversial.  Hmm, what's your three favorite animals?  Mine would have to be horses, birds, and cats.  That's not to say I look down on other animals."

"Well I'd be happy  to chance to glass half full if there were any indications it's filling" Monet said observing that Jean hadn't actually named a single actor or actress meeting those criteria. "But maybe that will happen soon."

"Hmm... I don't think I really have a favourite animal. But... " she thought for a few moments "Horses of course. But after that not much. That's not a 'I dislike them' it's just that they aren't a big part of my life. I could observe that I like eating chicken and lamb quite a lot, but I think that's not what you mean."

"Since we're on favourites. Where's your favourite place? No make that two. The place you would go by yourself and the place you would take a friend"

"That's easy... our rural home, especially after years of not being there.  The other place would have to be... a zoo.  Being among happy people and cute animals is bliss.  But don't get me wrong... I'm a city girl now and I love it."

Jean polished off the last of her meal and made use of the napkins.  It was probably time to get back to some training, then the show later on.  Jean signaled a waiter so she could pay for the meal (both of them).

"I've got this one.  Do you feel up to some more training, Monet?  I think I could show you a few things to practice in between work and faith commitments."

"The show starts in a little while, so I think that would be lovely in the morning" Monet agreed "I very much enjoyed this afternoon. It was a delight to be able to do that again. Mind you it was also a little like using muscles long unused: I suspect I will sleep well tonight"


OOC Let's do a closing post then reopen after breakfast

“I also suspect a good nights sleep.  Onto the show?”

Jean followed after Monet.

The show was as good as advertised and a happy Monet escorted Jean back to their hotel before heading to her own room

---

In the morning she met Jean in the breakfast area "Good morning" she said drinking a bitter jet black coffee in the European style, with some pancakes and fruit. "I was wondering about where to go with the training. As a PI I quite often meet criminals that know things. Last month I met a kidnapper who had hidden a child, and I didn't know how to make him talk. Fortunately the child was found. That has dwelled on me since. Would it be possible to discuss a morally dangerous topic: reading people's memories?"

Over breakfast, Jean listened to Monet's request...

"Its a slippery slope for sure.  When you begin to feel justified, invasive mind reading becomes that more easier.  But the guilt of not preventing bad things is also very real.  If it helps, I try to limit myself to reading surface thoughts... and pull back from 'secrets'.  With the right questions, you can prompt people to put desirable information into their surface thoughts.  Its a bit manipulative, so I wouldn't do it lightly... just for volunteers (like my show audience) and those one percent cases."

She then smiled.

"Emotional manipulation, that's another ethically complex discussion."

"There seem to me to be two clear places where I have no problems" Monet commented "The case I gave you of the kidnapper. The needs of the child outweighed the privacy of the kidnapper. Another is when the action is to help the person. I had a case with a person who heard the burglar in their house. They knew the person had a 'funny accent' but weren't able to describe it properly. I imagine there is a third with 'therapeutic aid' but while I have in interest in medicine it is more at the physical 'how does the body works' so I think I'd avoid that for some time: I've no desire to be the person doing the experimentation"
"Each of us draws our own line, and it's right for us. Consider that serial killers we saw in Club heaven: I am not sure he has a line other than 'did I get paid'. "

"That reminds me. Do you remember the second masked person? Be careful of him. He is powerful and while he has strong principles they are a little too utilitarian for me to be comfortable 'the ends justify the means' or 'the greater good for the greater number'. Allah teaches us another path 'do not do evil', but although many of his people are Muslim and deeply respect him, he doesn't follow that path"

She nodded at Jean's comments on how to get thoughts to the surface "That sounds very sensible. Simple word association can do a lot. I saw you doing that for your very enjoyable show."

Nodding, Jean tried to think of some examples to illustrate her words.

“Let’s say you had a client who was attacked in the night by persons unknown… and after an interview, you were sure they knew more… subconsciously.  Walking them through specific details while reading their surface thoughts could help.  It also has the benefit of anonymity.  Hypnotism is another cover in which to read thoughts, in a somewhat consensual way.  Drawing a picture of their attacker while lurking in their mind is another method of accepting relevant and volunteered Information.  These three methods should help in most of your work situations.”

As for talk of the masked men from Heaven…

“Technically, a mercenary mindset can indicate some ‘principles’… if not being the most reliable code of honor.  The second man’s appearance was so brief that I barely interacted with him.  Hmmm.  What have you heard about him?  When someone gives you a warning, I’ll generally hear out that advice.”

Monet nodded at the comments of the ways to use the power reasonably

"Let's not confuse 'adherence to a code' with 'being ethical'" she commented at the 'reliable code of honor'. "Take the example of 'I only kill people if I am paid to do so'. That might be an absolute for someone, and yet it leads to abhorrent behavior."

"That particular individual, unless I am mistaken, is a powered serial killer for hire called 'Taskmaster'. Here I use the technical description of 'a person killed multiple people on multiple occasions' which is the usual police definition, although not the definition of the journalist. He's made a name for himself doing the dirty work of mobsters."

"Those mobsters are not the 'acceptable face' that our Mr Worthington is. They are the kind that uses violence and murder as a tool, and hire Taskmaster to enact those tools. I'm sure he has some acceptable qualities, no one is a force of pure evil. Perhaps he's kind to dogs. Certainly though he will kill anyone in the way of his objective. Once a person is willing to kill without care or reason because 'they were in the way' or 'because I had to send a message'.... well Allah is clear on the penalty for that kind of behavior"

"Of course, Monet.  If I gave you the impression that I admired this Taskmaster... trust me, I do not.  It does brook an interesting discussion of preventative measures however.  Imprisoning or slaying Taskmaster would probably save more than a few lives.  Its not something I could do alone.  And unless I had hard proof, it would be unethical to try based on suspicion alone... even if I thought him guilty."

Presumably scanning Taskmaster's thoughts would garner some proof (a murder weapon, a paper trail, etc)... but that would violate Jean's own principles.

"Ah no. I didn't get that impression." Monet commented "I don't think the task of bringing Taskmaster to justice is ours though: we aren't the police. Hopefully SHIELD will deal with him in the near future.  If we came across something of interest to that, that would be good, but I'm currently not looking"

"The second person. Often known as Ghalib. He was much more interesting. Born Prince Viktur Von Doom of the nation of Latvaria which is only a hundred miles or so from where I was born.
"I don't know if he was born with powers, but he acquired them. My Latvarian isn't very good, but I'm friendly with the local ex-pat Latvarian community and they are full of respect for him. My father too, is full of praise for him"

"Now 'Ghalib' has a code of ethics, even though it's not mine. A code that you can admire even if you disagree with it. Just 'don't get in the way' because from what I hear, he is very effective at getting things done. I'm hoping to meet him in the near future. I'm certainly not planning on 'getting in his way' as mostly I support his aims"

At least they both agreed on leaving Taskmaster alone.

“Latvaria… that’s in Europe, right?  Again, I don’t know anyone from there.  What are these Prince’s ‘aims’ that you admire/support?”

After a bit more conversation, Jean took her leave.  She had a show to prepare for…
This message was last edited by the player at 11:02, Thu 14 Sept 2023.