08-30-2016, 08:46 PM
The walk from the door to the podium would have been nerve wracking, if Nicholas hadn't made a career of addressing millions. A menacing sensation attacked him from several directions. Nicholas could feel the eyes of half a thousand of the country's most powerful people on him when he took the stage - and he still hated the feeling of others holding the Power more.
"Good evening,"
Nicholas began, his voice strong and level, eyes scanning the room. "I can't say how much of an honor it is to find myself here, addressing both the House and the Senate of this great nation of ours."
He couldn't help but wonder if that was too much.
"Last week, by executive order from President Dawson, the Department of Powers was created."
Nicholas nodded to the section of the hall where the Senators were congregated. "My friends in the Senate confirmed me in my role as its first Secretary.
It will not be easy to define the way our country deals with Powered individuals. This is a new frontier, and we don't know what we'll find over the horizon. But I was chosen to captain that ship, and I'm going to make certain that we get to our destination in one piece.
Now, I know you're all busy, and you have better things to do than listen to me talk about how honored I am. So let's talk about what obstacles we're going to face. Let's talk about what it means to be the Secretary of Powers.
The Power is a source of near limitless energy and possibility. Even with our limited level of understanding thus far, we know it can revolutionize our energy industry, improve the quality of our healthcare, and allow us to rebuild our infrastructure from the ground up at costs we would have called impossible last year. To those ends, I’ve assembled a special task force under my department’s umbrella. DARPA gave us the internet; we're hoping that with time we can do something just as revolutionary.
Of course, with the discovery of the Power, we also know the true cause of the Sickness. Powered individuals, without training, often find their bodies taxed beyond capacity and die soon thereafter. I'm not going to lie to you all, there isn't any known way to spot these people before the Sickness's symptoms develop - but we do know that if caught early enough, it can be reversed. In the coming months, the Department will begin training programs across the country. We’re going to beat the Sickness, once and for all. Nobody should have to lose a loved one to a disease as preventable as this.
Now, the elephant in the room. You’ve seen the news reports, and the personal videos from Jeddah. I was trapped in an airport when Al-Hasan’s revolution started. His militants were attacking the airport, killing everyone they could get their hands on. In order to save my own life, and the lives of others, I had to use the Power as a weapon. I think you’ve all seen enough to know it was effective. That leaves us with a problem. How do we stop people from using this to do harm to others, without impeding the individual liberties that make this country so great?
The branches of the United States military have already begun investigating the Powered individuals within their ranks. We’re going to take a page from their playbook, and start combing the police forces throughout the country to find officers who already know they have the Power. With their help, we will develop the procedures necessary to maintain order and protect our citizens. With that said, I’d like to remind you all that up to this very moment, we do not have any record of a crime that is even suspected of being committed with the Power.
I know that to some of you, these words aren’t comforting. This is a big change. The world is changing. I know you’re at home, watching right now - parents who lost children to the Sickness, people who find their religious worldviews challenged, those of you who are afraid that people with the Power are out to hurt you. I can’t tell you I have all the answers, I can’t tell you I can mend every wound. But I can give you a promise: even if the whole world is changing, I haven’t forgotten you. It might be a bumpy ride, but we’re going to come out of this stronger than we ever were before.
That’s all I really have to say tonight, but before I hand the podium over to my childhood friend, Representative Evelyn Avalon of South Dakota, I want to remind you all of something. Nikolai Brandon, the man who calls himself Ascendancy, thinks this power makes him God. We all know God’s not sitting in a mansion in Moscow. No earthly power, and no man, is greater than our Constitution, or our nation. The Power is a tool, nothing more, nothing less - and by the time I’m finished, we’ll all be able to reap its benefits.”
Nicholas breathed a quiet sigh of relief when he stepped back from the podium. He did his part winning America’s minds; now it was Evie’s turn to win the hearts.
"Good evening,"
Nicholas began, his voice strong and level, eyes scanning the room. "I can't say how much of an honor it is to find myself here, addressing both the House and the Senate of this great nation of ours."
He couldn't help but wonder if that was too much.
"Last week, by executive order from President Dawson, the Department of Powers was created."
Nicholas nodded to the section of the hall where the Senators were congregated. "My friends in the Senate confirmed me in my role as its first Secretary.
It will not be easy to define the way our country deals with Powered individuals. This is a new frontier, and we don't know what we'll find over the horizon. But I was chosen to captain that ship, and I'm going to make certain that we get to our destination in one piece.
Now, I know you're all busy, and you have better things to do than listen to me talk about how honored I am. So let's talk about what obstacles we're going to face. Let's talk about what it means to be the Secretary of Powers.
The Power is a source of near limitless energy and possibility. Even with our limited level of understanding thus far, we know it can revolutionize our energy industry, improve the quality of our healthcare, and allow us to rebuild our infrastructure from the ground up at costs we would have called impossible last year. To those ends, I’ve assembled a special task force under my department’s umbrella. DARPA gave us the internet; we're hoping that with time we can do something just as revolutionary.
Of course, with the discovery of the Power, we also know the true cause of the Sickness. Powered individuals, without training, often find their bodies taxed beyond capacity and die soon thereafter. I'm not going to lie to you all, there isn't any known way to spot these people before the Sickness's symptoms develop - but we do know that if caught early enough, it can be reversed. In the coming months, the Department will begin training programs across the country. We’re going to beat the Sickness, once and for all. Nobody should have to lose a loved one to a disease as preventable as this.
Now, the elephant in the room. You’ve seen the news reports, and the personal videos from Jeddah. I was trapped in an airport when Al-Hasan’s revolution started. His militants were attacking the airport, killing everyone they could get their hands on. In order to save my own life, and the lives of others, I had to use the Power as a weapon. I think you’ve all seen enough to know it was effective. That leaves us with a problem. How do we stop people from using this to do harm to others, without impeding the individual liberties that make this country so great?
The branches of the United States military have already begun investigating the Powered individuals within their ranks. We’re going to take a page from their playbook, and start combing the police forces throughout the country to find officers who already know they have the Power. With their help, we will develop the procedures necessary to maintain order and protect our citizens. With that said, I’d like to remind you all that up to this very moment, we do not have any record of a crime that is even suspected of being committed with the Power.
I know that to some of you, these words aren’t comforting. This is a big change. The world is changing. I know you’re at home, watching right now - parents who lost children to the Sickness, people who find their religious worldviews challenged, those of you who are afraid that people with the Power are out to hurt you. I can’t tell you I have all the answers, I can’t tell you I can mend every wound. But I can give you a promise: even if the whole world is changing, I haven’t forgotten you. It might be a bumpy ride, but we’re going to come out of this stronger than we ever were before.
That’s all I really have to say tonight, but before I hand the podium over to my childhood friend, Representative Evelyn Avalon of South Dakota, I want to remind you all of something. Nikolai Brandon, the man who calls himself Ascendancy, thinks this power makes him God. We all know God’s not sitting in a mansion in Moscow. No earthly power, and no man, is greater than our Constitution, or our nation. The Power is a tool, nothing more, nothing less - and by the time I’m finished, we’ll all be able to reap its benefits.”
Nicholas breathed a quiet sigh of relief when he stepped back from the podium. He did his part winning America’s minds; now it was Evie’s turn to win the hearts.