Chapter 17
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The United Nations had long claimed Antarctica. Most member states seemed okay with giving some of this territory to Worthington. It was largely suspected that Worthington had bribed some of their leaders, but they also seemed genuinely happy to have a potential solution to the mutant question. Magneto had promised to turn Genosha into a sanctuary for mutants, but that meant displacing the homo sapien population. It seemed like justice to Magneto, to take and from the very people who were most oppressing mutants. But the other nations seemed uneasy with this approach. They hadn't really given a damn about the people of Genosha before, but now that they were in danger of being oppressed by mutants, now they greatly sympathized with these human refugees. Worthington's plan of relocating mutants to Antarctica seemed like a good compromise. But there were those who feared what this new colony might do, particularly if they had weapons. They hated mutants in their countries, but now that they were leaving they hated them for that.
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One day Ty and Tandy were eating at a Mcdonalds in Genosha. This place seemed relatively unchanged by the changing politics of the nation. Whichever group was in charge, they still needed to eat. Both mutants and humans worked here, some were part of political factions but when on the job they seemed relatively neutral. On this day, Ty and Tandy were discussing the situation.
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Tandy: Think this place will be left standing after Magneto takes over?
Ty: I hope so, we still need to eat after the revolution.
Tandy: I heard that Worthington's new Atlantis is already trying to get Mcdonalds to invest there, making it the first Mcdonads in Antarctica.
Ty: So at this point, the only countries without a Mcdonalds would be North Korea and the Vatican.
Tandy: But there are Mcdonalds locations in Rome, so the pope could probably have it delivered if he so desired.
Ty: Probably, the man is human after all. You think Worthington is right, that we're just going to trade one dictatorship for another?
Tandy: I don't know. I don't mind seeing the people who used mutants as slave labor charged with war crimes. On the other hand, there are a lot of humans who weren't involved, who would face displacement.
Ty: I know that Magneto says they're guilty of quiet complicity, but how many were scared into silence by the Colonel's secret police.
Tandy: I hear that Peter Colossus is making a speech tonight. Maybe we should go and hear what he has to say.
Ty: Sounds like a date.
Tandy: Cool.
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Ty and Tandy went to see Colossus speak. It was well known that he was part of the anti-war movement in Genosha, calling for both sides to negotiate a peace agreement. Those he was speaking to tonight largely agreed with him, or were at least willing to hear what he had to say. The audience included many, human and mutant alike.
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Colossus: Comrades, I pose before you tonight a simple question. How many more must die before the war profiteers have enough profits, profits from the tanks, the guns, the bombs? Fifty thousand? One million? Two million? I say none! I say stop the war now! Magneto came and he promised to free mutants from slavery. So we followed him because we wanted to believe in what he promised. But what does he want now? Does he promised a peace where humans and mutants can peacefully coexist? No! He promised that mutants will dominate and conquer the homo sapiens. We will just be trading one dictatorship for another. Magneto might claim that the humans who fought beside us will have a place in the new regime, that those who do not resist will be given Genoshan citizenship. But how long will these promises last before normal humans are stripped of all rights? How long will Magneto's dictatorship stay in power before it is overthrown and humans subjugate mutants again? And why is this exactly? Why can't humans and mutants live together in peace? Is that really like asking why the lion and the zebra can't live together in peace? Shall I tell you who the true enemy of both humans and mutants are? It is the capitalists. Those who do not work are kept in power by the strength of capital. Today, as the accursed regime of the Colonel struggles to survive, it blames the mutants. The anger of the oppressed workers the Colonel tries to turn against mutants. In other countries too we often see the landowners trying to forment hatred against the mutants, or the Jews, or the homosexuals. Whoever is the preferred scapegoat of the time, the capitalists divert the attention of the workers away from the true enemy of the proletariat capitalism. Only the most ignorant and downtrodden of peoples could believe the lies and slander that are spread about these peoples. This is a survival of ancient feudal times when the priests burned heretics at the stake, and the people were crushed and inarticulate. But this ancient feudal ignorance is passing away and the eyes of the people are being opened. It is not humans or mutants, it is not Jews or homosexuals who are the true enemy of the proletariat. The true enemies of the workers are the capitalists of all nations. It is true that there are, among the humans, capitalists, landlords, exploiters, just as there are among mutants, and among all groups. But the majority of humans, and the majority of mutants, are workers. They are our Comrades in the struggle for socialism. The capitalists strive to sow discord among the workers of different ethnicities, different nationalities, different mutations. The capitalists of all nations are in alliance to disunite, rob, and oppress the workers. Whatever differences they might have with each other I can assure you that they will work together to stay in power. We proletariat must be no less united. Our demands for the moment are quite simple. Bread for our workers, land for our tillers, and peace for our soldiers. I therefore call upon all, human and mutants alike, to demand these changes from your leaders. Only together can the proletariat defeat our true enemies and force Magneto and the Colonel to make peace with each other.