***
-I so do not want to do this-Chamber thought to himself as he dragged himself out of bed. Chamber, along with every other member of the senior staff, had been informed of Dr. Hank McCoy's actions regarding the data collected from torturing all those people. Although Chamber barely knew Rahne, he felt sick to his stomach when he learned that he had his face back thanks to those monsters that he helped take down. And the fact that he had just drunk an entire six-pack by himself didn't help matters much either.
- A body has to make up for lost time, after all- He joked to himself. He quickly got dressed and headed down to the sub basement where the meeting was supposed to take place. When he arrived, he saw that everyone else had already been there waiting for him. Rahne was flanked by Moonstar and Jean, while Hank and Wolverine were staring each other down, and everyone else, from Stacy-X to Angel, was just acting restless and deeply annoyed.
"Uhhh, I'm not late, am I mates?"
" Not at all, Jono. You're right on time. The rest of us simply arrived early. Please, take a seat."
As Jono sat down, he could feel the tension in the room.
" As we all know, we are here to decide what to do with Hank's pancura formula. We now know that it's creation was solely the result of the horrible experiments performed by Dr. Calvin on not just Rahne, but on countless other innocent victims. The matter before us today is what exactly to do with the material."
" What's there to think about, really?" Stacy-X asked, " We should just use it. I mean, those people are going to stay dead, why not make their deaths mean something?"
" That it's okay to butcher innocent people so long as yer hearts in the right place? That's a great message to send!" Logan growled.
" So we act like nothing happened? How does that help anyone?" Emma asked. And with that, the entire group, with the exception of Rahne, broke out into argument.
"…History has shown what happens when the ends justify the means! Iran anyone?"
"…This won't bring them back, but it will give their deaths meaning!"
"…This is spitting in the face of everyone they killed!"
"…Sometimes the needs of the many…"
"…You motherless little…"
"…Kindly self fornicate, will you, my dear?"
* That will be enough!* Everyone, again with the exception of Rahne, clutched their heads in pain as Professor X 'shouted' at them via his powers. He allowed them a moment to gather themselves before he continued.
" I had hoped that we could have calmly discussed this matter in a mature fashion, but I see that is not to be. It seems we all have our demons to wrest with. I suggest that we adjourn the meeting for now and meet back here later, and vote then."
Everyone silently nodded in agreement and filed out. Jean and Dani stayed at Rahne's side, warding off any potential questions.
-They already know full well what happened to her-Jean thought to herself, -I'm not about to let them quiz her on it-
" I cannae believe it's come tae this. Havin' tae decide what's more important, savin' the livin' or honoring the dead." Rahne said dejectedly.
" I think we can do both here, Rahne. Look, I know it's hard, but just vote how you think is best. You don't have to explain yourself to anyone."
" Rahne, why don't we go down to the pool and relax there?"
" I…dinnae think that would be a good idea, Dani…"
" Come on, Rahne, it'll be relaxing."
"I… Alright."
" You two have fun, I need to take care of some business upstairs."
Rahne was too depressed to question why Jean would leave her now, but Dani wasn't.
* Can't it wait? I think Rahne's more important right now than some errand.* She said to Jean telepathically.
* I'm going to try to drum up support for our side, so what happened to Rahne won't happen to anyone else* Jean replied.
* With your powers, you don't have to argue, you know.*
* I'll pretend I didn't hear that, Dani.* Jean replied as she left.
***
X-Men Rec Room.
" I gave that disk to you in good faith McCoy, and you broke it!" Logan growled with his claws extended, but at his side just to intimidate Hank. Hank barely noticed or cared.
" You gave me that disk so that I could help Rahne and I did just that! I see no reason for that information to only help Rahne!"
" Well, for one thing, she is the only one who they tortured who is still alive and for another, how about the thousands they killed?"
" Thousands? Your report made mention of a mass grave, but that couldn't possibly have held thousands…"
" Damn straight it couldn't. They kidnapped victims from all over the globe, an' when they killed them experimentin' on them, they shoved their corpses into ovens. They broke down shortly before we got there, that's why we found that mass grave. It's impossible to determine how many they killed before we stopped 'em."
" All the more reason not to let this information go to waste!"
" Why, so you can validate murderers?" Logan started to approach, but Bobby, who had just entered the room with Stacy-X, quickly got between the two.
" Let's calm down a little, guys. Mutant combat is a little cliché' here, don't you think?"
" I can't believe you're making jokes at a time like this Drake! They killed Marrow to get that data!"
" Her name was Sarah, you sawed-off maniac! And what do you care?" Bobby snapped.
" She was an X-Man, I cared plenty!"
" I really doubt that, Logan." Bobby sneered.
" Oh, and you did?"
" Yes I did! I tried to make her feel welcomed! I helped her fill out her registration form for college and helped her pick out classes! And that's why this is so hard for me!"
" What's so hard about making sure she gets justice?"
"Justice? Is that what you call throwing away one of the greatest medical discovery in the history of man?" Hank interrupted.
" It's hard," Bobby said, " Because Callisto was right. Sarah's death didn't matter. She had a future in front of her. A good one. She actually wanted to write children's books, did you know that Logan?"
" No, not really."
" Of course you didn't," Bobby spat, " You were too busy beating her up or giving her lip. She wanted to write children's books so no kid would have to live thru the misery she did. So they could enjoy the happiness she never did. And she'll never be able to realize her dream now. And any hope that she would be remembered by the world, as anything other than some random mutant, is gone now. If her death can help others, I think maybe…maybe we should use it."
" Do you want to make those murderer's right?" Logan asked.
" No, I want their deaths to matter, since their lives no longer can." He replied.
***
" Come on, Rahne, the water's just fine." Dani said as she tried coaxing her friend into the pool, leading her by the hands.
" I…I'm nae sure aboot this. It's very… cold." Rahne said fearfully. She tried hard to be brave, but the farther she walked down the ramp into the pool, the more she was reminded of how the doctor's who experimented on her would strap her down to a metal gurney and dip her in ice cold water up to her neck, simply to induce hypothermia. How she could feel her life draining away, inch by painful inch. And the feeling was getting worse and worse the farther she walked into the pool.
" It's okay Rahne. I'm here, there's nothing to be afraid of." Dani said reassuringly. Rahne nevertheless pulled away from her and quickly got out of the pool.
" I'm sorry, Dani. It's…jus'…I cannae do it. I'm tae scared." She said, ashamed. To be afraid of water, of all things…
" I understand. And don't sweat it none, Rahne. Recovery is a slow thing. Why don't you just sit on the side and just put your legs in? It might help some." Dani suggested.
" Alright. Dani, I know this is a silly question, but why are ye so mad at Hank? Ye said yuirself that ye would hae given me the formula yuirself wit' out telling me the truth aboot it. An' the more I think aboot it, the more I have a hard time bein' mad at Hank. I mean, he did whit he did tae help people."
" I had some more time to think about it last night. And I would be more than willing to kill Dr. Calvin's great grand parents to spare you the horror of what you lived thru, Rahne. That certainly doesn't make it right."
" That's nae an answer, Dani."
" Sorry…it's complicated. I don't know if you would really understand."
" Well, I thought everyone f'r sure would think less o' me when they learned that I was raped. I thought they would look down at me f'r bringin' a such shame tae muh self. I ne'er thought that anyone would understand, Dani. I was wrong, ye know."
-Guilt trip. She must have picked that up from me. Should I be proud or ashamed?- Dani thought to herself. " Okay, I'll give it a shot. I thought all about it last night. Hell, I could barely get to sleep. You know the general history of what happened to my ancestors, to all Native Americans, right?"
" Ye mean how they lost their lands tae the settlers an' such? Aye, who doesn't?"
" They, we, didn't just lose our lands Rahne. We lost our homes and were moved to and confined to lands that weren't worth a damn for the rest of our lives and our children's lives. In our own country, by men who we first welcomed here with open arms no less. And when it was discovered that sometimes the land held gold, it was taken from us, just like before. We were driven off so that the white man could mine it and profit from it while we were left with nothing but dust. And that wasn't the worst of it."
As Dani explained her reasoning, Rahne could sense her friend getting angrier and angrier.
"They tried to take away or erase our very culture, our way of life. Indian children were often taken away from their 'pagan' parents and placed in Christian schools where they were taught that everything their parents had taught them was wrong, that their parents were bound for hell and only they could save them. Needless to say, it created a rift between generations that still exists today and has caused disease and alcoholism to rip thru what little remains of our people. We've become an endangered species in our own home land!"
" Muh heart goes out tae ye, Dani, but whit does this have tae do wit' the formula, an' information?"
" Because for every time my people were victimized because of the white man, other white men would then say 'never again'. Every time. They would get outraged, object and promise us that they would never tolerate something like this again. Of course, they would never give us back what was ours by birthright, and would then preceded to victimize us again. Hell, recently tribes in the mid west were recently denied the right to perform an age olds spiritual practice by the Supreme Court because they used peyote as a part of it. And no one in this country really seemed to care that they had just been denied a part of their culture that was older than this country, either."
" But, Dani, this information ken help people…"
" I know, Rahne I know. But in the grand scheme of things, that's not important here. I'm sure that if the world gets this information and uses it, they will swear, 'never again'. They will promise that they would never condone torture and never allow something like this to happen again. That the measures they will adopt will stop something like this from ever happening again. But why should I believe them, when they have never kept the promise of 'never again' to my people? What happens when the next man who thinks he's doing the world a favor by doing the exact same thing that Calvin did? He'll know what his work will be rewarded, that even though he will be despised for all history, he will still be remembered for how he 'helped' science. That's cold comfort to his victims who won't even be remembered by name."
" But…"
" Look at it this way, Rahne. Do you want anyone else to live thru what you did?"
" Of course nae, Dani! I wouldnae wish that on muh worst enemy! How ken ye ask such a thing?"
"Because that's exactly what will happen if we let this stand, Rahne. We stop this here and now, or matters will only get worse. Make no mistake about it. You don't have to be a history major to know that."
***
-It's so beautiful up here, no wonder he comes up here so often- Jean thought to herself as she soared thru the clouds using her incredible telekinetic powers. She was looking for an old friend, but couldn't help but take in the sights. Everything below seemed so insignificant… so simple.
" Come here often, good looking?" A voice said from above. Warren Worthington the Third swooped down and circled Jean twice.
" Just when I want to talk to high flying, handsome blue boys."
" And let me guess, you want to talk about my vote?"
"I guess I can be a little transparent sometimes, but yes. How do you intend to vote?"
" I should think it's obvious. We should use the formula to heal those in need. It's the same reason that I haven't retracted my statement about Calvin in the Daily Bugle, even though his actions sicken me. We need to look at the big picture here."
" The big picture?" Jean asked.
" Yes, the big picture. This thing was basically a conspiracy of one. Calvin will be despised for the rest of history; the U.N and the U.S will take every precaution to see to it that this never happens again and I'm sure no doctor would want to go to jail for the rest of his life for repeating what Calvin did, so why not allow that information to help people?"
" And that's the big picture to you?"
" Yes. Try to ignore your feelings for a moment and look at the facts. People are dying, and we can help them. But you don't want to because you think it would make the people who hurt Rahne right. Or as Jason Medwid put it, 'your rights end where my feelings begin'."
"And that's the big picture to you, Warren? Overlooking, of course, that democracy is about minority rights with majority rule."
" I wouldn't put it quite like that, but yes."
" Then you aren't looking hard enough. This isn't about helping others; it's about the first domino! Yes, Calvin did what he did by himself and using his own resources. But that's just because he was the first to have the idea. If we release this information, you can be assured that others will follow in his footsteps. Companies that are desperate for cash or just greedy enough, will set up shop in some poor country, bribe the local officials, and do whatever the hell they please!"
" You can't honestly believe that!"
" Why not? Most pharmacological companies have already moved the majority of their live trials overseas because American standards on live human experimentation were too 'strict'. Greed is pretty damn powerful, after all. We've already seen Diamond companies help fuel civil wars in Africa just to make a few more millions! We've seen car companies use slave labor in the past too! Hell, we all know how compassionate H.M.O's can be, and they are supposed to help people!"
" Private companies have to answer to the public, Jean. You know that!"
"Only if they are found out. Enron never had to explain it's accounting until everything had already gone to hell. And that's just private companies. What about countries that don't answer to anyone at all? As I recall, Saddam Hussein was more than willing to test out his chemical weaponry on his own citizens! Who knows what will happen, what he will do if he gets the idea to start medical experiments on those who disagree with him! And what about China? They forcibly sterilize women to control the population! They also kill political prisoners and sell their organs. Would dissecting political prisoners be that far off if they realized they could get something out of it? And the U.N would do NOTHING to stop them… because they really can't do anything. Do you think that will change when the leaders in China get the idea to start performing medical experiments on anyone who crosses the government? I certainly don't!"
" The citizens won't allow something like that, Jean, don't be so pessimistic!"
" Oh? Parents in Bangkok sell their own children into slavery! Orphanages in Asia, all over the world, are overrun with unwanted children that are a burden on the local government. And let's not forget mental patients, the poor and unemployed! There are more than enough potential future victims out there, Warren. If you can't see that, then you just aren't looking hard enough!"
Jean turned to leave…
" Oh Warren? Something you should remember about all of what happened to Rahne. Her_right's_ended when Dr. Calvin, your friend," Jean said, her voice filled with venom, " felt it was right to begin inhuman experiments on innocent victims! If we let that information be released, the blood of every future victim will be on our hands!"
" And what about those dying right now while we debate this? What about their lives?"
" Unfortunately, they die! If you're looking for easy answers, Warren, you should never have joined the human race! Rahne, Sarah, Kyle, they weren't volunteers who willingly gave their lives to help others! They were kidnapped off the street, tortured and killed because of Calvin thought it would be best for humanity! No one has the right to play god like that! No one! Rahne, Kyle, Sarah and every other person they tortured, raped and killed have nothing whatsoever to do with making the world sick! By your reasoning, if a group of people were dying because they needed an organ transplant, it would be perfectly all right to kill another man and take his organs for transplant. That's exactly what will happen when we let the rights of the many outweigh the rights of the few!"
And with that, Jean left Warren to contemplate his decision.
***
Lakeside
" What are your thoughts on this whole sordid affair, mien friends?" Kurt asked Chamber and Cecelia Reyes.
" I'm not really sure what to think mates. I mean, yeah, they gained this information thru torture, but if it can be used to help others, shouldn't it?" Jono asked.
" Yes, but wouldn't that say to the world that it is alright to torture people so long as your heart is pure and your goals are just? Wasn't that called the Spanish inquisition?"
" Uhh, you've been awfully quite, Doc, what are your thoughts?" Jono said, trying to deflect the question. The fact that he wasn't certain where he stood in the issue didn't help. One the one hand, the pancura formula was the greatest thing to ever happen to him, giving him his face, and therefore his life, back. But on the other hand, they had killed countless others to get the information in ways too horrible to describe.
" Huh? Excuse me, Jono? What were you saying?"
" I was asking what your opinion on this whole bloody mess is."
" I'm still trying to figure that out myself, really."
" Vas? Are you aware of what those fiends did to her? How she suffered?" Kurt asked angrily.
"Of course I know the hell that Rahne lived thru, Kurt! I'm one of the ones who helped put her back together after those bastards dissected her!"
" So how can you support Hank using the information they obtained by raping her body?"
" That's just it. I don't condone Hank creating the formula, but he did. And since he did what he did, I think we should use it. I mean, I know it's a hard choice but… have you ever looked into the eyes of a man who is dying, how he pleads with you to do something, anything, to save his life when you can do nothing? I don't think I could live with myself if I turned away from something this important."
" Even if it means you are vindicating butchers and sadists? Even if it means you are opening the door to even more abuses in the future?"
" Yes, Kurt. God help me, even if. I see no reason to fear the future."
***
-I so do not want to do this-Chamber thought to himself as he dragged himself out of bed. Chamber, along with every other member of the senior staff, had been informed of Dr. Hank McCoy's actions regarding the data collected from torturing all those people. Although Chamber barely knew Rahne, he felt sick to his stomach when he learned that he had his face back thanks to those monsters that he helped take down. And the fact that he had just drunk an entire six-pack by himself didn't help matters much either.
- A body has to make up for lost time, after all- He joked to himself. He quickly got dressed and headed down to the sub basement where the meeting was supposed to take place. When he arrived, he saw that everyone else had already been there waiting for him. Rahne was flanked by Moonstar and Jean, while Hank and Wolverine were staring each other down, and everyone else, from Stacy-X to Angel, was just acting restless and deeply annoyed.
"Uhhh, I'm not late, am I mates?"
" Not at all, Jono. You're right on time. The rest of us simply arrived early. Please, take a seat."
As Jono sat down, he could feel the tension in the room.
" As we all know, we are here to decide what to do with Hank's pancura formula. We now know that it's creation was solely the result of the horrible experiments performed by Dr. Calvin on not just Rahne, but on countless other innocent victims. The matter before us today is what exactly to do with the material."
" What's there to think about, really?" Stacy-X asked, " We should just use it. I mean, those people are going to stay dead, why not make their deaths mean something?"
" That it's okay to butcher innocent people so long as yer hearts in the right place? That's a great message to send!" Logan growled.
" So we act like nothing happened? How does that help anyone?" Emma asked. And with that, the entire group, with the exception of Rahne, broke out into argument.
"…History has shown what happens when the ends justify the means! Iran anyone?"
"…This won't bring them back, but it will give their deaths meaning!"
"…This is spitting in the face of everyone they killed!"
"…Sometimes the needs of the many…"
"…You motherless little…"
"…Kindly self fornicate, will you, my dear?"
* That will be enough!* Everyone, again with the exception of Rahne, clutched their heads in pain as Professor X 'shouted' at them via his powers. He allowed them a moment to gather themselves before he continued.
" I had hoped that we could have calmly discussed this matter in a mature fashion, but I see that is not to be. It seems we all have our demons to wrest with. I suggest that we adjourn the meeting for now and meet back here later, and vote then."
Everyone silently nodded in agreement and filed out. Jean and Dani stayed at Rahne's side, warding off any potential questions.
-They already know full well what happened to her-Jean thought to herself, -I'm not about to let them quiz her on it-
" I cannae believe it's come tae this. Havin' tae decide what's more important, savin' the livin' or honoring the dead." Rahne said dejectedly.
" I think we can do both here, Rahne. Look, I know it's hard, but just vote how you think is best. You don't have to explain yourself to anyone."
" Rahne, why don't we go down to the pool and relax there?"
" I…dinnae think that would be a good idea, Dani…"
" Come on, Rahne, it'll be relaxing."
"I… Alright."
" You two have fun, I need to take care of some business upstairs."
Rahne was too depressed to question why Jean would leave her now, but Dani wasn't.
* Can't it wait? I think Rahne's more important right now than some errand.* She said to Jean telepathically.
* I'm going to try to drum up support for our side, so what happened to Rahne won't happen to anyone else* Jean replied.
* With your powers, you don't have to argue, you know.*
* I'll pretend I didn't hear that, Dani.* Jean replied as she left.
***
X-Men Rec Room.
" I gave that disk to you in good faith McCoy, and you broke it!" Logan growled with his claws extended, but at his side just to intimidate Hank. Hank barely noticed or cared.
" You gave me that disk so that I could help Rahne and I did just that! I see no reason for that information to only help Rahne!"
" Well, for one thing, she is the only one who they tortured who is still alive and for another, how about the thousands they killed?"
" Thousands? Your report made mention of a mass grave, but that couldn't possibly have held thousands…"
" Damn straight it couldn't. They kidnapped victims from all over the globe, an' when they killed them experimentin' on them, they shoved their corpses into ovens. They broke down shortly before we got there, that's why we found that mass grave. It's impossible to determine how many they killed before we stopped 'em."
" All the more reason not to let this information go to waste!"
" Why, so you can validate murderers?" Logan started to approach, but Bobby, who had just entered the room with Stacy-X, quickly got between the two.
" Let's calm down a little, guys. Mutant combat is a little cliché' here, don't you think?"
" I can't believe you're making jokes at a time like this Drake! They killed Marrow to get that data!"
" Her name was Sarah, you sawed-off maniac! And what do you care?" Bobby snapped.
" She was an X-Man, I cared plenty!"
" I really doubt that, Logan." Bobby sneered.
" Oh, and you did?"
" Yes I did! I tried to make her feel welcomed! I helped her fill out her registration form for college and helped her pick out classes! And that's why this is so hard for me!"
" What's so hard about making sure she gets justice?"
"Justice? Is that what you call throwing away one of the greatest medical discovery in the history of man?" Hank interrupted.
" It's hard," Bobby said, " Because Callisto was right. Sarah's death didn't matter. She had a future in front of her. A good one. She actually wanted to write children's books, did you know that Logan?"
" No, not really."
" Of course you didn't," Bobby spat, " You were too busy beating her up or giving her lip. She wanted to write children's books so no kid would have to live thru the misery she did. So they could enjoy the happiness she never did. And she'll never be able to realize her dream now. And any hope that she would be remembered by the world, as anything other than some random mutant, is gone now. If her death can help others, I think maybe…maybe we should use it."
" Do you want to make those murderer's right?" Logan asked.
" No, I want their deaths to matter, since their lives no longer can." He replied.
***
" Come on, Rahne, the water's just fine." Dani said as she tried coaxing her friend into the pool, leading her by the hands.
" I…I'm nae sure aboot this. It's very… cold." Rahne said fearfully. She tried hard to be brave, but the farther she walked down the ramp into the pool, the more she was reminded of how the doctor's who experimented on her would strap her down to a metal gurney and dip her in ice cold water up to her neck, simply to induce hypothermia. How she could feel her life draining away, inch by painful inch. And the feeling was getting worse and worse the farther she walked into the pool.
" It's okay Rahne. I'm here, there's nothing to be afraid of." Dani said reassuringly. Rahne nevertheless pulled away from her and quickly got out of the pool.
" I'm sorry, Dani. It's…jus'…I cannae do it. I'm tae scared." She said, ashamed. To be afraid of water, of all things…
" I understand. And don't sweat it none, Rahne. Recovery is a slow thing. Why don't you just sit on the side and just put your legs in? It might help some." Dani suggested.
" Alright. Dani, I know this is a silly question, but why are ye so mad at Hank? Ye said yuirself that ye would hae given me the formula yuirself wit' out telling me the truth aboot it. An' the more I think aboot it, the more I have a hard time bein' mad at Hank. I mean, he did whit he did tae help people."
" I had some more time to think about it last night. And I would be more than willing to kill Dr. Calvin's great grand parents to spare you the horror of what you lived thru, Rahne. That certainly doesn't make it right."
" That's nae an answer, Dani."
" Sorry…it's complicated. I don't know if you would really understand."
" Well, I thought everyone f'r sure would think less o' me when they learned that I was raped. I thought they would look down at me f'r bringin' a such shame tae muh self. I ne'er thought that anyone would understand, Dani. I was wrong, ye know."
-Guilt trip. She must have picked that up from me. Should I be proud or ashamed?- Dani thought to herself. " Okay, I'll give it a shot. I thought all about it last night. Hell, I could barely get to sleep. You know the general history of what happened to my ancestors, to all Native Americans, right?"
" Ye mean how they lost their lands tae the settlers an' such? Aye, who doesn't?"
" They, we, didn't just lose our lands Rahne. We lost our homes and were moved to and confined to lands that weren't worth a damn for the rest of our lives and our children's lives. In our own country, by men who we first welcomed here with open arms no less. And when it was discovered that sometimes the land held gold, it was taken from us, just like before. We were driven off so that the white man could mine it and profit from it while we were left with nothing but dust. And that wasn't the worst of it."
As Dani explained her reasoning, Rahne could sense her friend getting angrier and angrier.
"They tried to take away or erase our very culture, our way of life. Indian children were often taken away from their 'pagan' parents and placed in Christian schools where they were taught that everything their parents had taught them was wrong, that their parents were bound for hell and only they could save them. Needless to say, it created a rift between generations that still exists today and has caused disease and alcoholism to rip thru what little remains of our people. We've become an endangered species in our own home land!"
" Muh heart goes out tae ye, Dani, but whit does this have tae do wit' the formula, an' information?"
" Because for every time my people were victimized because of the white man, other white men would then say 'never again'. Every time. They would get outraged, object and promise us that they would never tolerate something like this again. Of course, they would never give us back what was ours by birthright, and would then preceded to victimize us again. Hell, recently tribes in the mid west were recently denied the right to perform an age olds spiritual practice by the Supreme Court because they used peyote as a part of it. And no one in this country really seemed to care that they had just been denied a part of their culture that was older than this country, either."
" But, Dani, this information ken help people…"
" I know, Rahne I know. But in the grand scheme of things, that's not important here. I'm sure that if the world gets this information and uses it, they will swear, 'never again'. They will promise that they would never condone torture and never allow something like this to happen again. That the measures they will adopt will stop something like this from ever happening again. But why should I believe them, when they have never kept the promise of 'never again' to my people? What happens when the next man who thinks he's doing the world a favor by doing the exact same thing that Calvin did? He'll know what his work will be rewarded, that even though he will be despised for all history, he will still be remembered for how he 'helped' science. That's cold comfort to his victims who won't even be remembered by name."
" But…"
" Look at it this way, Rahne. Do you want anyone else to live thru what you did?"
" Of course nae, Dani! I wouldnae wish that on muh worst enemy! How ken ye ask such a thing?"
"Because that's exactly what will happen if we let this stand, Rahne. We stop this here and now, or matters will only get worse. Make no mistake about it. You don't have to be a history major to know that."
***
-It's so beautiful up here, no wonder he comes up here so often- Jean thought to herself as she soared thru the clouds using her incredible telekinetic powers. She was looking for an old friend, but couldn't help but take in the sights. Everything below seemed so insignificant… so simple.
" Come here often, good looking?" A voice said from above. Warren Worthington the Third swooped down and circled Jean twice.
" Just when I want to talk to high flying, handsome blue boys."
" And let me guess, you want to talk about my vote?"
"I guess I can be a little transparent sometimes, but yes. How do you intend to vote?"
" I should think it's obvious. We should use the formula to heal those in need. It's the same reason that I haven't retracted my statement about Calvin in the Daily Bugle, even though his actions sicken me. We need to look at the big picture here."
" The big picture?" Jean asked.
" Yes, the big picture. This thing was basically a conspiracy of one. Calvin will be despised for the rest of history; the U.N and the U.S will take every precaution to see to it that this never happens again and I'm sure no doctor would want to go to jail for the rest of his life for repeating what Calvin did, so why not allow that information to help people?"
" And that's the big picture to you?"
" Yes. Try to ignore your feelings for a moment and look at the facts. People are dying, and we can help them. But you don't want to because you think it would make the people who hurt Rahne right. Or as Jason Medwid put it, 'your rights end where my feelings begin'."
"And that's the big picture to you, Warren? Overlooking, of course, that democracy is about minority rights with majority rule."
" I wouldn't put it quite like that, but yes."
" Then you aren't looking hard enough. This isn't about helping others; it's about the first domino! Yes, Calvin did what he did by himself and using his own resources. But that's just because he was the first to have the idea. If we release this information, you can be assured that others will follow in his footsteps. Companies that are desperate for cash or just greedy enough, will set up shop in some poor country, bribe the local officials, and do whatever the hell they please!"
" You can't honestly believe that!"
" Why not? Most pharmacological companies have already moved the majority of their live trials overseas because American standards on live human experimentation were too 'strict'. Greed is pretty damn powerful, after all. We've already seen Diamond companies help fuel civil wars in Africa just to make a few more millions! We've seen car companies use slave labor in the past too! Hell, we all know how compassionate H.M.O's can be, and they are supposed to help people!"
" Private companies have to answer to the public, Jean. You know that!"
"Only if they are found out. Enron never had to explain it's accounting until everything had already gone to hell. And that's just private companies. What about countries that don't answer to anyone at all? As I recall, Saddam Hussein was more than willing to test out his chemical weaponry on his own citizens! Who knows what will happen, what he will do if he gets the idea to start medical experiments on those who disagree with him! And what about China? They forcibly sterilize women to control the population! They also kill political prisoners and sell their organs. Would dissecting political prisoners be that far off if they realized they could get something out of it? And the U.N would do NOTHING to stop them… because they really can't do anything. Do you think that will change when the leaders in China get the idea to start performing medical experiments on anyone who crosses the government? I certainly don't!"
" The citizens won't allow something like that, Jean, don't be so pessimistic!"
" Oh? Parents in Bangkok sell their own children into slavery! Orphanages in Asia, all over the world, are overrun with unwanted children that are a burden on the local government. And let's not forget mental patients, the poor and unemployed! There are more than enough potential future victims out there, Warren. If you can't see that, then you just aren't looking hard enough!"
Jean turned to leave…
" Oh Warren? Something you should remember about all of what happened to Rahne. Her_right's_ended when Dr. Calvin, your friend," Jean said, her voice filled with venom, " felt it was right to begin inhuman experiments on innocent victims! If we let that information be released, the blood of every future victim will be on our hands!"
" And what about those dying right now while we debate this? What about their lives?"
" Unfortunately, they die! If you're looking for easy answers, Warren, you should never have joined the human race! Rahne, Sarah, Kyle, they weren't volunteers who willingly gave their lives to help others! They were kidnapped off the street, tortured and killed because of Calvin thought it would be best for humanity! No one has the right to play god like that! No one! Rahne, Kyle, Sarah and every other person they tortured, raped and killed have nothing whatsoever to do with making the world sick! By your reasoning, if a group of people were dying because they needed an organ transplant, it would be perfectly all right to kill another man and take his organs for transplant. That's exactly what will happen when we let the rights of the many outweigh the rights of the few!"
And with that, Jean left Warren to contemplate his decision.
***
Lakeside
" What are your thoughts on this whole sordid affair, mien friends?" Kurt asked Chamber and Cecelia Reyes.
" I'm not really sure what to think mates. I mean, yeah, they gained this information thru torture, but if it can be used to help others, shouldn't it?" Jono asked.
" Yes, but wouldn't that say to the world that it is alright to torture people so long as your heart is pure and your goals are just? Wasn't that called the Spanish inquisition?"
" Uhh, you've been awfully quite, Doc, what are your thoughts?" Jono said, trying to deflect the question. The fact that he wasn't certain where he stood in the issue didn't help. One the one hand, the pancura formula was the greatest thing to ever happen to him, giving him his face, and therefore his life, back. But on the other hand, they had killed countless others to get the information in ways too horrible to describe.
" Huh? Excuse me, Jono? What were you saying?"
" I was asking what your opinion on this whole bloody mess is."
" I'm still trying to figure that out myself, really."
" Vas? Are you aware of what those fiends did to her? How she suffered?" Kurt asked angrily.
"Of course I know the hell that Rahne lived thru, Kurt! I'm one of the ones who helped put her back together after those bastards dissected her!"
" So how can you support Hank using the information they obtained by raping her body?"
" That's just it. I don't condone Hank creating the formula, but he did. And since he did what he did, I think we should use it. I mean, I know it's a hard choice but… have you ever looked into the eyes of a man who is dying, how he pleads with you to do something, anything, to save his life when you can do nothing? I don't think I could live with myself if I turned away from something this important."
" Even if it means you are vindicating butchers and sadists? Even if it means you are opening the door to even more abuses in the future?"
" Yes, Kurt. God help me, even if. I see no reason to fear the future."
***