Carthrat-World Savior: An adventure in misplaced optimism

[Carthrat]

Carthrat pauses.

"How many people are left?"

[Bean Bandit]

"Approximately two hundred thousand within the city, and a few scattered thousand outside, sustaining the planet's resources, and shipping some into the city." The old man replies gravely. "Though, with the Levithan skimming the best, even the richest humans are equivalent to upper middle class."

[Carthrat]

"Only.. two-hundred thousand? Gods, the city I came from was larger than that.. and it's not that big..."

Carthrat shakes his head. "What does he do when he.. gets the best from the rest?"

[Bean Bandit]

"Lives it up, essentially." The old man replied with a grimace. "Pretty slick operation, really. Keeps us economically under control, and reinforces a class distinction between his people and humans."

[Carthrat]

"And so he just plans to.. wait until you all die out, or something? Why doesn't he just kill you all off? Certainly sounds like he could..."

[Bean Bandit]

"Genocide is a tricky thing, m'boy." he replies. "Imperfect, and hard to get right. If he messes that up, the surviving humans go into hiding, and pop up later to cut his throat as he sleeps. What he's trying to do now is break us as a race. Get us used to being under their thumb, so we'll be nice and docile, and able to be left alone without rebelling."

[Carthrat]

Carthrat leans against a wall, massaging his temples.

A slight bead of sweat starts to make it's way down his face.

"So. How do you propose I go about.. uh.. stopping this? I don't know anything about this world. I'm trying very hard not to.. totally freak out, y'know?"

[Bean Bandit]

"I can help on both counts." The old man smiles. "Just had to wait for the right man, y'know?" He hops up on his workbench, and takes a candy bar from nowhere, and unwraps it, and starts to eat.

"Two main issues. Leviathan is too powerful for any existing human. Not you, when I get finished. Secondly, His flagship is in orbit. If he can still communicate with it, you won't have time to breathe, much less kill him." He smiles. "As for the mop up? Well, We humans aren't cattle yet."

[Carthrat]

"What *is* Leviathan? What the hell are you going to do with me? Who *are* you?" says Carthrat, quickly- taking a moment to reflect on how he'd gotten here.

Oh yeah. Arrogance.

Paying for that always sucked, even if it seemed cool at the time.

[Bean Bandit]

"I am...WIZARD!" The old man cries, posing dramatically.

"No, really. My parents needed to talked to by child welfare authorities, but there were none back when I was a young'un." he adds, in a more conversational tone. "Anyway, I'm a magic user by default. I can use magic through machines only. I haven't natural talent. But, I've developed, with the help of some very old texts, methods of allowing others to utilize untapped talents. You, should, by my estimates, either have a high talent, or a body that allows extraordinary magical things to be accomplished."

"Now, Leviathan...are nothing more than humaniods, on a much more technologically advanced scale...but completely barren on a magical one."

[Carthrat]

Carthrat shrugs. "Doesn't sound too different from where I come from," he replies. "Granted, they probably know a great deal more about science than my people do.. but, hell, I only discovered magic existed today.

I dunno about untapped talent, though. I think all my talent got used up when I was in high school. Now I need to actually work at stuff."

[Bean Bandit]

"Well, if your Terra is anything like ours, you probably don't know of magic users because they tend to hide from 'Normals' Humans as a rule weren't too tolerant of differences, back in the day." He mused, brushing chocolate out of his beard. "And as for your talent, it's the work of a few scans to determine how best to empower you."

[Carthrat]

"Could be," replies Carthrat, shrugging. "So.. I guess 'why me' is kind of superfluous. I'll ask that chick when I see her again.

What now, then?"

[Bean Bandit]

"Well, I supposed you agreed to this, or you wouldn't be here, so...just go lie on there." he instructs, pointing to a table off to the side. Metal. Real comfortable.

[Carthrat]

Well, I agreed to run off and die for some other world in exchange for potentially gaining power. Go me!

"Right." Carthrat obediantly moves to the table, and lies down. "This better not leave any permenant scars, or anything."