Prometheor

Leo II

The wheels of his personal life came off quickly after that. Copious amounts of sweat ran down his face but he couldn't pause to address it as he gingerly steadied the power assembly. One wrong move here would level a few city blocks. He imagined the ruins would be radioactive as well. He expanded his dreamsphere to include the deeper dimensions of matter and wondered to himself how he was able to white-list Fabian and Regis while he was so drunk. Did he work better on the drink? Was he safer, or more competent?

He paused and allowed himself to breathe, then stilled. Perhaps when his vision was doubled he relied more on his third eye. He risked a glance at the bottle of water sweating in the corner of the warm, dark room. He thought about his one and only cup back home and never thought he could miss it so badly. He thought about the creamy cerebral expanse of a Milky Drop and perfectly assembled the inconceivably volatile power housing assembly almost without noticing. One more to go.

This is what I'm perfect for. This is why they scouted me.

#

The day he met Regis, and Copernicus began to reveal his motives and ambitions, was a terrible day. His hangover refused to go down without a fight and Copernicus suggested they adjourn to the Stellar Drop. Though Leo insisted it was too early to start drinking, Copernicus wouldn't be dissuaded.

When they were comfortably sitting at a booth, Copernicus ordered coffee for the three of them. Leo couldn't focus past the pain in his head, after a while, it became clear the other two were watching him. Leo didn't make a move until the coffee arrived.

"Leo," Copernicus began, "How long have you been at your job?"

He let the question hang in the air a moment before answering. It seemed innocuous enough.

"Five years."

"And in all that time, you've never produced anything of value, despite your obvious brilliance. Why?"

This question surprised him and he looked at Regis, who spoke.

"You've been monitored."

"So is everyone else."

"But not by me," Copernicus said. "Leo, do you believe humans have the right to take control of whatever they find in the galaxy?"

The question caught Leo off guard; he wasn't sure what this was all about. The pain in his head reached him from some far distant past.

It was something he hadn't really considered. He understood mankind in this day and age was forever expanding into the cosmos and generally taking responsibility for whatever they found. The question struck at the heart of a difficult concept for humanity: that of ownership.

"Leo, I told you when we met that I would evolve mankind psychologically the way Copernicus did. I need your help to do that. What would happen if, say, your "Matter Scrambler" was perfected and you publicized it?"

This question was a surprise because he couldn't remember telling him about the matter scrambler. Just how much drinking have I been doing lately?

"My place in the House of Man would be assured. I would be able to have a family and support them in perpetuity," he said quietly.

"And what makes you think the Lockguards would allow that to happen? You don't think the Lockguards would claim ownership of your intellectual property? You are a part of one of their biospheres after all. They own the air you breathe. Do you think that's fair?"

"That they could steal my inventions?"

"That any one person could own an atmosphere and, by extension, anything produced in it. Your mother was a historian, did she ever tell you about class warfare? Caste societies? Dispensable labor forces? The beginning of history is the beginning of a story of powerful people taking advantage of others. If I were to call you a slave, you would cite your wages as proof you do not live in a slave society. If I were to then point out the unquestioned system of institutionalized debt used to keep the labor force moving, you might see that brilliant creators such as yourself often end their lives in squalor, penniless and despondent despite their careers. How much money do you have at the end of each month?"