Kickstarter Manuscript Preview © 2019 Onyx Path Publishing Chapter One: The Day the World Changed “I never said, “The superman exists, and he’s American.” What I said was, “God exists, and he’s American.” — Dr. Milton Glass, Dr. Manhattan: Super-Powers and the Superpowers, from Watchmen March 23rd, 2018, N-Day — the day the world changed forever. Following the tragic explosion of the space station Galatea in orbit, people around the world began displaying superhuman abilities of an unexplained nature, starting with New York City firefighter Randel Portman, later known as “the Fireman.” In the days and weeks following, dozens more people manifested powers, leading to a worldwide state of emergency. It was soon clear that the world would never quite be the same again, as the miraculous and the extraordinary became the order of the day. Now, ten years later, in 2028, the world is indeed a different place, but perhaps not as changed as some hoped or feared. Some two thousand people worldwide have “erupted” into what is believed to be a new evolutionary subspecies of humanity, Homo sapiens novus, commonly known as “novas” and less flatteringly as “aberrants.” Their presence and powers have changed the world and may offer hope for a better future, or a looming threat greater than any humanity has ever faced — or both. Aberrant Timeline 2018 — Eruptions March 23, 12:18 p.m. GST: The research space station Galatea explodes, killing the astronauts on board and dumping radioactive material into Earth’s atmosphere. March 23, 3:31 p.m. GST: In New York City, firefighter Randel Portman manifests superhuman powers, absorbing all the heat and flames from a multi-alarm apartment building blaze without harm to himself. Portman’s first superhuman feat is captured on video and he is quickly dubbed “the Fireman” by the media. March - April: Dozens of other people with “aberrant powers” appear worldwide, leading to widespread panic, states of emergency, and emergency sessions of the United Nations. April 2: The Æon Society initiates a dialog with the United Nations, offering to seek out and study the phenomenon to learn more about it. The term “nova” is adopted in response to the early suggested taxonomy of Homo sapiens novus, the scientific speculation that these people are a subspecies or mutant offshoot of baseline humanity. The term “baseline” enters common use not long thereafter. May 1: The Æon Society publicly issues an invitation to open dialog with any interested novas to help them study and understand their abilities. The UN works diplomatically to assure the world that Æon can handle the nova outbreak, as more novas continue to manifest their abilities worldwide. The sometimes violent, elemental nature of the first manifestation of a nova’s powers leads to the term “eruption.” June 30: The United Nations issues the Zurich Accord, affirming the human rights (and responsibilities) of novas: Whatever their abilities, the Accord says, novas are still human beings, and must be treated accordingly. July 1: The Æon Society tasks its Project Utopia division with finding ways to harness the powers of novas for the good of the world, as much for public relations and to calm widespread fears as for practical reasons. October: The aftershocks of N-Day create apocalyptic cults and backlash against novas, along with groups practically worshipping them. Public opinion on novas is deeply divided, with concern about when the continued eruption of new novas will end, if ever. December 4: Drs. Mazarin and Rashoud, Triton Foundation researchers, release their initial findings from scientific studies of novas. These included what is termed “Mazarin-Rashoud (or MR) flux” detected in brain-scans, and “MR coils” in cellular examinations, the first clear physical differences discerned between novas and baseline Homo sapiens. Their use of “baseline human” in their writings reinforces the use of “baseline” in popular culture to refer to non-novas. The Mazarin-Rashoud report suggests nova abilities are based on mental manipulation of fundamental quantum forces: gravity, electromagnetism, and the strong and weak nuclear force, leading to the popular association of “quantum” with novas and their powers. Profile: Henri Mazarin and Farah Rashoud Despite the public perception of overnight success, Drs. Rashoud and Mazarin have both been involved in research for the Æon Society for years leading up to N-Day. Both have had long careers working for the Triton Foundation in their respective specialties, but it was the nova phenomenon that brought them together. Since releasing their findings on MR coils and flux, both Farah and Henri have been on permanent loan to Project Utopia. Neither researcher has an official place in Utopia’s organizational structure, but both are considered giants in the field and everyone defers to them or seeks their advice on projects. Their names are intertwined, but they each have their own interests and don’t work directly together that often. Dr. Rashoud studies how emotional stressors precipitate the eruption process, and how these can be predicted, guided, or even prevented. Dr. Mazarin is more interested in nova physiology and medicine, and understanding how quantum flux can have such a varied expression of effects on human cells while maintaining a viable living creature. Henri is also concerned that despite the numerous discoveries and papers coming from his lab, his career will never experience another shining moment of recognition without his constantly-named partner. Farah is less concerned about this, in part because her name and screening procedures are synonymous with the Rashoud Facilities across the world. This fact has caused some resentment and professional jealousy in Dr. Mazarin, but not enough to sour their relationship. December 31: The Æon Society’s estimates there are some 200 novas worldwide. 2019 — Recruitment January: The year opens with Project Utopia unveiling Team Tomorrow (T2M), the first nova recruits for their plans to improve the world. A week later, Utopia opens the first Rashoud facility for nova testing and evaluation in New York City. The DeVries Agency in South Africa begins actively recruiting novas, becoming Project Utopia’s first serious competition for nova employment. Team Tomorrow faces a baptism of fire when they confront the terrorist group Islamic Dawn in a daring raid. February: Nova film-makers and videographers Christopher Gaal and James Najarian launch N!Sight, “about novas, by novas” and quickly become one of the most popular content providers in the world, particularly for their “up close and personal” videos and live streams of novas in action. March: Inspired by N!Sight and Project Utopia, private corporate concerns begin aggressively looking to recruit and hire nova “special talents.” While the concept is treated largely as publicity, there is also serious behind-the-scenes consideration of the potential business applications for the growing list of novas and their powers. November 21: Japan announces Saisho, “The New Beginning,” a series of government subsidies and initiatives designed to employ novas to revitalize Japan’s tech-sector and overall economy. They also announce Nippontai, a national nova-team, and potential competition for Team Tomorrow. It becomes increasingly clear Japan intends to deal with the new “Nova Age” on its own terms, in spite of UN diplomatic efforts. December 31: Novas continue to erupt throughout the year, despite falling radiation levels from the Galatea explosion. By the end of the year, there are 350 known novas worldwide, and the notion of “dark stars” or “stealth” novas — novas whose enhancements might be mistaken for extraordinary human talents or who are simply in hiding — has entered the public consciousness. This suggests there may be other novas, perhaps many others, who have gone unnoticed. 2020 — Change January 1: Nova twins Janos and Janice Karagian, as part of the Artemis mission, become the first novas to set foot on the Moon without the aid of space suits or space vehicles. The “New Year’s Flare” of light they emit from the lunar surface is visible to observers on Earth. Their message back to Earth: “The first moon base will be intended as the home of Apollo, Artemis, and any gods we may send in future: Olympus.” Profile: Janos and Janice Karagian The Hungarian-born twins Janos and Janice Karagian are noteworthy among novas for several reasons. First, they are both novas, suggesting a genetic link in the potential for nova eruption, and therefore the subjects of intense scientific scrutiny to learn more. Second, they erupted at virtually the same moment and exhibit identical powers, which may support the notion of “sympathetic eruptions” or that “quantum resonance” plays a role in nova eruptions. Last and perhaps most important, the twins entered history as the first people to set foot on the Moon — without the aid of either spacecraft or spacesuits. Since that historic day, the Karagian twins have been poster-children for the nova exploration of space. There were involved in the founding of the Daedalus League, an informal group of novas capable of and interested in travel and exploration outside of Earth’s atmosphere, and have remained active since. They spend much of their time working with private and government space agencies on new exploration projects, along with occasional and popular appearances on OpNet streams. The Karagians can both fly at high speeds and survive unaided in the vacuum of space. They have enhanced senses, including the ability to silently and mentally communicate with each other. January 28: The Triton Foundation announces the first successful gene-therapy for breast cancer and progress in similar therapies to treat other forms of cancer. February 1: Project Utopia announces its worldwide environmental cleanup initiative, “Operation Clean Sweep.” Inspired by the Karagians’s “moonwalk,” a group of novas founds the Daedalus League, dedicated to the nova exploration of space.