Log: Forge and Manuel, Tuesday morning
Apr. 12th, 2005 08:57 am![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
x-forge.livejournal.com posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
xp_logsSet before his email to Jamie, Forge goes looking for people to help his newest activism idea along, and comes to Manuel for assistance.
"Perfect," Forge mumbled, printing out the last page from the news
report. He'd checked around, if he could get enough people together
and they played their cards right, this would be the ideal jumping-off
point for a new mutant-human cooperative youth political movement.
He'd need to gather folks with people skills, though. He had ideas,
now all he needed was someone to help express them.
Jamie was a no-brainer, he'd gotten the entire idea off the ground,
after all. Hopefully he'd leap at the chance, Forge mused. Ever since
the fire at the coffeehouse, Jamie hadn't said a word about HeliX, or
ever trying to get it restarted. So Jamie was a definite.
Heading down to the music room, Forge looked in to see his next choice
sitting on a bench by the piano. Whereas Jamie would most likely
definitely want to be involved, Forge wasn't all that certain about
Manuel. Yet when it came to thinking of people who knew both the
business end of things and could work a crowd if needed, Forge could
find no one better than the young Spaniard. If only the project piqued
his interest.
Easing the door open, Forge put on a broad smile. "Manuel?" he called
out, "I was wondering if I could steal a few moments of your time."
Manuel looked up from the piano, automatically pasting on a smile for
the other boy's benefit. "Sure." he said, swinging his bare feet
around and turning in place on the piano stool to face Forge. He
looked at Forge before speaking, sussing out his emotional state and
how best to apporach things. "My time is yours, at least for the next
half-hour."
"Great," Forge answered reflexively, taking a seat across from Manuel
and spreading out the papers on the piano. "I've been doing some
research for Mr. al-Rashid's flight class, I'm in it to try and
understand the principles behind self-powered flight despite being
groundbound myself. One of the things that caught my eye is that
there's no classification for a pilot's license for individual flight.
Technically you don't need a license for anything under a hundred-foot
ceiling, but you go above that and you're in public airspace." Forge
flipped through his stack of papers to what looked like a legislative
document.
"Now," he continued, "there's not been a case yet of the FAA coming
down on mutants for flying around - but if a motion got put through
the proper channels to create a licensing category for individual
flyers, then that would head off any discriminatory charges or suits
before they could start. I've got a good deal of the research done,
and all it would take is some letter-writing and getting a petition
started, that would get a local lawmaker to sponsor the idea and move
it on up the chain."
Manuel hrmmed. "Doable, if you know the right people and how to
approach them. Problem is you run the risk of making a mutantophobe
public official making a test-case out of you. I would go with the
personal approach. Of course, American politics are far from my
specialty. I'm more accustomed to European politics. But if you can
generate a sound groundswell of support - don't forget to talk to the
enthusiasts! - and demonstrate that there's a political benefit to
presenting the issue to the FAA..." he mused as he thought out loud.
Forge's enthusiasm was infectuous, and Manny appreciated the
brightness and the energy it brought him.
Forge clapped his hands together. "Exactly. I'm going to talk to Ms.
Blaire about who to approach - I understand that she was the advisor
for Jaime's group initially, and having come out as a public mutant
like she did, she may have a bit of P.R. pull when we take this to the
next level. The thing is, we've got to do some local grassroots work
to get those enthusiasts, hence my idea for a petition. And that's why
I wanted to talk to you. Power or no power, you seem to know how to
talk to people, how to phrase things in the way that they'll react
most to. That could be a real asset to us."
Manuel had to bite back a laugh, but he would not disrespect Forge's
enthusiasm. "I can try. I can't promise anything, and I'll have to do
it headblind." he cautioned. "And just having me try could sink this
entire deal, especially if this is, as I suspect, an attempt to
resurrect HeliX. Were you planning on asking Jamie to help?" he asked.
"Well, yeah," Forge said, somewhat surprised by Manuel's seeming lack
of confidence. "I mean, he was instrumental in getting the initial
movement running, and he really believes in it. He's good with people
and he's organized. Why do you ask? Some problem between you two?"
Forge cocked his head slightly, inquisitiveness practically radiating
off him like a furnace. "I'm not up on all the blood feuds and gossip,
really. Dr. McCoy tells me it's because I spend too much time in the
lab and not the hallways."
"In this case, you're probably better off staying in the lab. Do you
remember hearing about the Love Potion incident that went down maybe a
year or so? Was right after I arrived, and Jamie came to see me about
it. He denies it, but I was fairly sure that I saw that he believed
that I caused the whole thing." he said matter-of-factly. "The fact
that I'm the one who _fixed it_ seems to have escaped him. And since
Katherine was one of the ones affected, this makes me the Bad Guy.
Later, during the entire affair with Jamie's rogue self, I put myself
on the line to help with everything, to the point of risking
death-trauma and damaging my knee. He refused to acknowledge my aid,
and I had to press him to even get him to thank me for my trouble. No,
Mr Madrox and I are far from what anyone would call friends. I am not
sure he would be willing to work with me on just about anything."
"Seems that Jamie's problems with you are only related to his
girlfriend," Forge observed. "I just came to the conclusion that
people are completely retarded when you bring their girlfriends into
the picture, and assume that when said girlfriends are involved, their
ability to make coherent and competent decisions is severely impaired.
But if you guys don't want to work with each other," Forge shrugged,
"I can work around that. Because really, you guys have a dislike for
each other - that's nothing compared to the big picture."
"I agree. I'm willing to do whatever I can to help you. I'm no flier,
but it's the first step towards making a better world for all of us,
where children like me aren't put in insane asylums and experimented
upon because they have power. Jamie - does not see it that way. To
him, it's an academic exercise. It's not personal, like it is for me.
And, if I may presume, for you." he explained. "Well, there are other
reasons for the emnity, but again, they are through proxies, third
parties. I've barely spoken to him in my time here. And he likes it
that way, so I indulge him." He then grinned briefly. "And your
observation about girlfriends is spot-on. Trust me, I know." he said
with a bitterly jagged smile.
While probably the farthest thing from an empath in the mansion, Forge
could practically taste the bitterness coming off Manuel. "Good, then.
I'll send you an email with the details. And... I was going to ask
Amanda to help out, when she gets back. Is that going to be a
problem?"
Manuel fought for control for a moment, but then shook his head. "No,
I do not believe so. But I cannot and will not speak for her." he
cautioned. "If there is a problem, it will not be on my end. This is
too important to allow her shit to derail." he said with finality.
"But I don't want to talk about her. I'll do my part, just let me know
what it is you want me to do."
"Fair enough," Forge conceded. "I'll make some calls, find out who we
can talk to, and then we'll get the ball rolling on this." He gathered
up the papers and smiled. "Thanks, Manuel. I mean it. This isn't just
important to me, it's a first step for all of us."
"Perfect," Forge mumbled, printing out the last page from the news
report. He'd checked around, if he could get enough people together
and they played their cards right, this would be the ideal jumping-off
point for a new mutant-human cooperative youth political movement.
He'd need to gather folks with people skills, though. He had ideas,
now all he needed was someone to help express them.
Jamie was a no-brainer, he'd gotten the entire idea off the ground,
after all. Hopefully he'd leap at the chance, Forge mused. Ever since
the fire at the coffeehouse, Jamie hadn't said a word about HeliX, or
ever trying to get it restarted. So Jamie was a definite.
Heading down to the music room, Forge looked in to see his next choice
sitting on a bench by the piano. Whereas Jamie would most likely
definitely want to be involved, Forge wasn't all that certain about
Manuel. Yet when it came to thinking of people who knew both the
business end of things and could work a crowd if needed, Forge could
find no one better than the young Spaniard. If only the project piqued
his interest.
Easing the door open, Forge put on a broad smile. "Manuel?" he called
out, "I was wondering if I could steal a few moments of your time."
Manuel looked up from the piano, automatically pasting on a smile for
the other boy's benefit. "Sure." he said, swinging his bare feet
around and turning in place on the piano stool to face Forge. He
looked at Forge before speaking, sussing out his emotional state and
how best to apporach things. "My time is yours, at least for the next
half-hour."
"Great," Forge answered reflexively, taking a seat across from Manuel
and spreading out the papers on the piano. "I've been doing some
research for Mr. al-Rashid's flight class, I'm in it to try and
understand the principles behind self-powered flight despite being
groundbound myself. One of the things that caught my eye is that
there's no classification for a pilot's license for individual flight.
Technically you don't need a license for anything under a hundred-foot
ceiling, but you go above that and you're in public airspace." Forge
flipped through his stack of papers to what looked like a legislative
document.
"Now," he continued, "there's not been a case yet of the FAA coming
down on mutants for flying around - but if a motion got put through
the proper channels to create a licensing category for individual
flyers, then that would head off any discriminatory charges or suits
before they could start. I've got a good deal of the research done,
and all it would take is some letter-writing and getting a petition
started, that would get a local lawmaker to sponsor the idea and move
it on up the chain."
Manuel hrmmed. "Doable, if you know the right people and how to
approach them. Problem is you run the risk of making a mutantophobe
public official making a test-case out of you. I would go with the
personal approach. Of course, American politics are far from my
specialty. I'm more accustomed to European politics. But if you can
generate a sound groundswell of support - don't forget to talk to the
enthusiasts! - and demonstrate that there's a political benefit to
presenting the issue to the FAA..." he mused as he thought out loud.
Forge's enthusiasm was infectuous, and Manny appreciated the
brightness and the energy it brought him.
Forge clapped his hands together. "Exactly. I'm going to talk to Ms.
Blaire about who to approach - I understand that she was the advisor
for Jaime's group initially, and having come out as a public mutant
like she did, she may have a bit of P.R. pull when we take this to the
next level. The thing is, we've got to do some local grassroots work
to get those enthusiasts, hence my idea for a petition. And that's why
I wanted to talk to you. Power or no power, you seem to know how to
talk to people, how to phrase things in the way that they'll react
most to. That could be a real asset to us."
Manuel had to bite back a laugh, but he would not disrespect Forge's
enthusiasm. "I can try. I can't promise anything, and I'll have to do
it headblind." he cautioned. "And just having me try could sink this
entire deal, especially if this is, as I suspect, an attempt to
resurrect HeliX. Were you planning on asking Jamie to help?" he asked.
"Well, yeah," Forge said, somewhat surprised by Manuel's seeming lack
of confidence. "I mean, he was instrumental in getting the initial
movement running, and he really believes in it. He's good with people
and he's organized. Why do you ask? Some problem between you two?"
Forge cocked his head slightly, inquisitiveness practically radiating
off him like a furnace. "I'm not up on all the blood feuds and gossip,
really. Dr. McCoy tells me it's because I spend too much time in the
lab and not the hallways."
"In this case, you're probably better off staying in the lab. Do you
remember hearing about the Love Potion incident that went down maybe a
year or so? Was right after I arrived, and Jamie came to see me about
it. He denies it, but I was fairly sure that I saw that he believed
that I caused the whole thing." he said matter-of-factly. "The fact
that I'm the one who _fixed it_ seems to have escaped him. And since
Katherine was one of the ones affected, this makes me the Bad Guy.
Later, during the entire affair with Jamie's rogue self, I put myself
on the line to help with everything, to the point of risking
death-trauma and damaging my knee. He refused to acknowledge my aid,
and I had to press him to even get him to thank me for my trouble. No,
Mr Madrox and I are far from what anyone would call friends. I am not
sure he would be willing to work with me on just about anything."
"Seems that Jamie's problems with you are only related to his
girlfriend," Forge observed. "I just came to the conclusion that
people are completely retarded when you bring their girlfriends into
the picture, and assume that when said girlfriends are involved, their
ability to make coherent and competent decisions is severely impaired.
But if you guys don't want to work with each other," Forge shrugged,
"I can work around that. Because really, you guys have a dislike for
each other - that's nothing compared to the big picture."
"I agree. I'm willing to do whatever I can to help you. I'm no flier,
but it's the first step towards making a better world for all of us,
where children like me aren't put in insane asylums and experimented
upon because they have power. Jamie - does not see it that way. To
him, it's an academic exercise. It's not personal, like it is for me.
And, if I may presume, for you." he explained. "Well, there are other
reasons for the emnity, but again, they are through proxies, third
parties. I've barely spoken to him in my time here. And he likes it
that way, so I indulge him." He then grinned briefly. "And your
observation about girlfriends is spot-on. Trust me, I know." he said
with a bitterly jagged smile.
While probably the farthest thing from an empath in the mansion, Forge
could practically taste the bitterness coming off Manuel. "Good, then.
I'll send you an email with the details. And... I was going to ask
Amanda to help out, when she gets back. Is that going to be a
problem?"
Manuel fought for control for a moment, but then shook his head. "No,
I do not believe so. But I cannot and will not speak for her." he
cautioned. "If there is a problem, it will not be on my end. This is
too important to allow her shit to derail." he said with finality.
"But I don't want to talk about her. I'll do my part, just let me know
what it is you want me to do."
"Fair enough," Forge conceded. "I'll make some calls, find out who we
can talk to, and then we'll get the ball rolling on this." He gathered
up the papers and smiled. "Thanks, Manuel. I mean it. This isn't just
important to me, it's a first step for all of us."
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2005-04-12 10:08 pm (UTC)Alison is almost certainly who to talk to about PR but there are a few people at the shcool who know a fair bit about lobbying congress, for whom American politics is a speciality.
no subject
Date: 2005-04-12 10:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-04-12 11:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-04-13 12:15 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-04-13 01:16 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-04-13 01:27 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-04-13 01:33 am (UTC)To: Blaire, Alison in an informal capacity
Bitch.
no subject
Date: 2005-04-13 01:52 am (UTC)To: Grey, Jean in an informal capacity
Pares cum paribus facillime congregantur. Or, you know - takes one to know one.
no subject
Date: 2005-04-13 02:38 am (UTC)Antiquis temporibus, nati tibi similes in rupibus ventosissimis exponebantur ad necem.
no subject
Date: 2005-04-13 02:44 am (UTC)In dentibus anticis frustrum magnum spiniciae habes.
no subject
Date: 2005-04-13 04:21 am (UTC)Vacca foeda
no subject
Date: 2005-04-13 04:37 am (UTC)Caeca invidia est.
no subject
Date: 2005-04-13 04:42 am (UTC)Ah, that explains the outfit. Braccae illae virides cum subucula rosea et tunica Caledonia-quam elenganter concinnatur!
no subject
Date: 2005-04-13 01:17 am (UTC)And Tommy would like to say to Forge....Bring it on.