Xaviers!

"And your headmistress has generously provided this area for us to work in, for which we are very thankful.

Throwing words like 'mindrape' around, and suggesting that any use of powers is 'ends justifying the means and fuck the consequences' is, frankly, insulting. And it goes to show how deeply the bigotry and hatred of mutants is set, when it can be so deeply set, even in us, that we fear and hate those of us who would use our abilities openly. Internalized bigotry is a sad end result of decades of oppression and fearmongering, and has proven to be the fatal stumbling block for powerful movements around the world. We're hoping we can change that."

"Well let's see how the press like it when you're trying to have your staffers escort out a mutant who just saved the bloody Prime Minister."

Francis' eyes definitely did dart over to the producers when Sam made that comment. Point, McManus.


"And it was a brave act, as well. I take it you're the son of Aubrey Marsh, then? The former Conservative back-bencher who's been making overtures towards UKIP in recent months? Well, in that case, I suppose the mystery of your distrust of politicians is solved, and highly understandable," he said, lightly. He reached out his hand towards Shane.

Shane made no effort to accept the gesture, but he did reign in his fury.

"No one here is suggesting any use of powers is wrong, only that mentally forcing a crowd to do things, even just to take your words at face value, is bloody unethical at best. It's like if I tied some random stranger down with vines. How we use our gifts matters."

"While I understand your point, you're misinterpreting what I did rather severely, and it's coloring your opinion of what happened.

I forced no one to do anything. If you clapped, it's because somewhere, deep down inside, underneath years of hearing people -- including your father -- smash and tear down and destroy people for being different, you know that human beings are human beings. And that it's more than past time for people to come together to end that oppression. Not just for mutants, but for all people, everywhere.

The non-mutant equivalent would be..." he paused for a moment, thinking. "Showing someone who didn't like vegetables a dish prepared by a master chef. Maybe, afterwards, they'll still stick to their 'I don't like vegetables' stance. But maybe, just maybe, being taken out of their comfort zone will help them re-evaluate their viewpoint."

Basil finally spoke up.

"Shouldn't it be their decision whether or not they step out of their own comfort without the forces of coercion?"

"It was their choice to come to the rally. They could have stayed home and continued ignoring the plight of those who live, study and work here. I'm not walking down Maldon's main boulevard and shouting my message from the rooftops. They bravely took the first step, and I helped them go the rest of the way."

"Oh aye, the way she was dressed, she was asking for it."

Francis sighed. "If you must be that way, very well then.

I had hoped to find some people who actually believed in a future where mutants could be equal. Where they could use their powers without being shunned or forced into hiding. Where they could demonstrate their abilities without fear of hatred or reprisal. Perhaps that is not today.

I bid good day to you all."


Francis headed for the door, followed by members of his staff.

"I do apologize for my students rudeness." Ashlie says from where she's standing near the front door, casting a glance over to the group of students. "I hope it does not tarnish the spirit of cooperation we hope for between mutants and I'm sure nobody is accusing anybody of any serious misgivings." she goes on, expression turning just a tad icy.

"There should be room for discussion without drawing ill-mannered comparisons to assault." She turns back towards Francis. "Thanks for taking the time to do this, even if it wasn't as fruitful as one would have hoped."

"Perhaps their children will be more ready to fight for equality. We thank you, headmistress," he said, shaking her hand, and then walking out.

"What a smug, word-twisting windbag," Shane groused. "Nobody that upper-crust could know shit about equality."

"This very school is built on the foundation that Charles Xavier put down with his inherited wealth, on grounds passed down through the Braddock family. Simply by attending this school you're more fortunate and privileged than most mutants, yet you blame him for using his money and influence for a good cause? While you shout talking points ripped straight from anti-mutant creeds at him? In front of cameras? Regardless of Mr. Dashwood's ambitions we have a reputation among both mutants and humans. How do you think it will look when people see this kind of strife in a place that claims to stand for the cooperation and betterment of mutantkind?"

"I wasn't going to sit there and be called a self-hating mutant just because I think it's not cricket to telepathically manipulate a crowd without their consent."

"He made people listen. Are you going to claim the same manipulation if a human accomplishes the same by being charismatic and eloquent? If you condemn the means themselves then you are no better than those who hate and fear you for what you are. You should all take a hard look at yourselves and ask yourself why exactly you mistrust him. Because I suspect it's not because of anything he's said or done here today."

"If the accusation bothers you quite so much then perhaps you should reflect on it," Aiden said looking at Sam having decided to return to the yelling ma- er... conversation for a moment before following Mr. Dashwood. He was still somewhat interested in talking to the man and seeing what his plan was without the mob carrying torches and pitchforks in attendance.

"You know what? I'm sick and tired of being called anti-mutant for daring to question the honesty of a career politician who happens to say the right sentiments. With what he did I will never believe or trust him. Ever," Shane said, ignoring the very true accusation of having a preconceived opinion.

Basil sighed audibly, his shoulders slumping a bit.

"That went worse than expected."

"What do you mean worse? I'd have thought you of all people would get what I'm on about."

"I do Samantha, but he's clearly convinced he is in the right. Shouting someone down doesn't get anyone to see sense. It only gets hackles raised and tempers flaring.

Headmistress is half right.

We might be in the moral right, but we didn't behave like it."

Basil was being very careful to include himself even though he said next to nothing, intending to blame no one singular individual.

Jezabelle was biting her thumb and looking deep in thought. Mr. Dashwood's comment to her had surprised her, and what had followed had made her reflect on the entire reason she had come there with Basil and Shane.

"Fuck me, they're right." She muttered softly. "I was so..., embarrassed by having been taken in by his methods that I really did lose sight of the big picture here. We can't demand that the candidate who looks out for our best interests be perfect, I..." She started to trail off, mumbling little half thoughts and touching her face in a some sort of nervous tick.

"I'd say 'not perfect' is putting it a bit mildly."

"And I see no problem holding our would-be leaders to a higher standard. But..." he said, sighing, "I'll admit I have some trust issues here."

Basil made a motion that indicated he was weighing their two points of view.

"I agree no one is perfect and you need to accept that all people have flaws. But do we really want someone with that flaw representing us is the pertinent question."

"Well, what alternative do we have? Where could we find a better candidate, and not split the vote?"

"That's not how it works. He's the head of a party. He can't be the only candidate."

"It's just... if he's the party leader, they've probably all got a similar philosophy."

"However, what the headmistress and Mr. Dashwood are not taking into consideration is that if we found a problem with it, so will his intended constituents most likely, as they are very unlikely to be overtly pro mutant and many are unlikely to appreciate having a mutants powers used on them whether said mutant intended harm or not.

Which leads me to believe this splitting vote thing may not be such a bad idea after all."

"Not to burst too many bubbles here, but I assume these are concerns that the people running this campaign have taken into consideration. But if you wanted to raise them then this would have been exactly what this meeting space was arranged for. Meeting with potential constituents is not just a show for the media, but you just ensured that your voice in the matter would be discarded rather than listened to. Political parties are never completely homogenous and change will almost always be enacted from within the system. It's your choice if you do that by opposing an existing party with significant resources and splitting what's already a minority vote or by compromising with someone who ultimately shares a common goal."

Basil used the opening to interject before someone spouted off something extremely hot and angry again to express their opinions.

"Madam Headmistress... Do you like thought experiments?"

"Generally, yes."

Basil steadied himself for a moment. The headmistress seemed to him to be determined to be in camp Dashwood despite the man's misgivings and if he was seriously going to try to sway voters, this would more or less decide for him whether or not he was capable of actually being more than just some guy in an Elmo suit. Now was the time to act. Literally. He was going to have to sell the shit out of this if he wanted to prove their point.

He took a long breath and when he did, he became visible. He was speaking with his hands as he did when he was invisible to lead his thoughts, but it was much more effective now than then.

"Imagine if you will that you are not the Headmistress or a person in a position of a authority. You're just a person. Better yet, imagine you're one of the students here at the school.

And you get invited to go to a party by a new friend you just met. And even though you only know one person at this party, you are so excited to go!" Basil stated, his eyes lighting up as one does when they themselves are excited.

"Your friend is occupied when you arrive to the party. You don't know your friend well enough to interrupt what they are doing. After all, you don't even know what your new friends power is yet.

As you get a drink and stand with your back against the wall as those in socially awkward situations often do, your favourite song begins to play. You've danced to this song one hundred times, one thousand times even. But never in front of a group like this. You think to yourself 'should I dance?' And even though you'd love to, internally, you debate the pros and cons of each. Maybe that cute person you like will see you dancing. Would they enjoy your dancing? Would they join you? Would they and others laugh at you because you're really bad at it? No one else is dancing, is this a party where people are supposed to dance or just the kind where people are supposed to drink? Did you wear the right trousers for dancing?

As you are debating all of the potentials internally, your feet begin moving you towards the open space in the dance floor, and you think you must have decided that indeed, dancing is what you came here to do and by God, you were going to dance your ass off." As he spoke, Basil too began dancing. Nothing too extreme, just a little back and forth shoulder shuffle with a casual smile on his face.

"When you get done, your friend finally approaches you. And they say to you 'See? I knew you'd enjoy dancing. You just needed a little push.'

And when they say that, you realize you hadn't decided to dance to your favourite song at all. Before you had gotten done weighing your options, your new friend the telepath decided since you liked the song enough to dance, you should be dancing.

They hacked your mind and moved your limbs for you when you had not yet engaged them for yourself, because of course they knew that is what you really wanted to do, you just hadn't gotten the nerve up to do it yet.

How do you feel? "

"I'm capable of imagining the scenario that happened here, Mr. Benson. I'm also aware of the fact that every sensory perception, every bit of data that flows into me is influencing my actions and thoughts. Yet in your scenario you wouldn't blame the music player of coercing you into dancing. Because it lacks intent? If so then you should judge your friends actions in the same light. By his intent for you to have fun and better yourself. Someone who teaches philosophy is not violating anybody, yet their words are penetrating your mind by a different vector. Is it harder to do those things without telepathy? Certainly. Did I yell at Miss West or Miss Desinov simply because their minds are capable of distorting the school's network and thus my mind? No, I did not, because they did nothing wrong. The vector doesn't matter. You're simply used to vibrations in the atmosphere and electromagnetic waves being part of the data you are bombarded with every second of your life."

"Have I picked up the wrong message then that the school feels we should not use our powers on others without their consent, if possible, unless they are doing something malevolent that it cannot otherwise be avoided?"

"I'm not trying to encourage his behavior. Merely explain to you that you are overestimating the severity of what happened out there. I especially don't want people to feel that we allow for no mistakes and react like that at the smallest transgression. Learning includes making mistakes. There are any number of students and teachers who are here despite their transgressions in the past who wouldn't be here if we'd acted like you just did today." she says, glancing around the room to make clear she's not just talking to Basil.

Basil's brow knitted and he bit into the inside of his bottom lip, disappearing.

Samantha knew there was more he wanted to say, but he didn't. He had hoped Ashlie was not listening to them because of lack of cooler heads, but that seemed not to be the case.

And if he couldn't convince Ashlie he was right, why should he hope to convince anyone else? What a stupid plan he'd had.

Ashlie certainly had given Shane a lot to think about. He probably had overreacted, as he had a long habit of doing. He still thought she was missing the point about free will but he knew he had no chance of winning any sort of civil debate right then. Shane Marsh was profoundly unskilled at expressing his opinions in a calm, reasonable fashion when his hackles were up.

He sighed again, "Don't judge them too harshly Headmistress. If anyone is responsible for escalating this disagreement to incivility... it's me. If you need me to publicly humble myself to mitigate the damage then I will."

"Yeah, I think... I think I'll be writing an apology letter."

"You don't need to make a public showing out of apologizing, if that's what you decide is right. This is a complicated topic full of controversial opinions, that much history has shown. But that just makes those who are open to discourse and publicly fighting for Mutant Rights like Mr. Dashwood that much more important. Should you decide that his positions are too different from your own but you still want to engage in the political process then we can talk about that. Maldon is fairly accommodating, but having a mutant on the city council would do much to open lines of communications and make the school seem less like an ivory tower."

"Yes ma'am." Basil replied, seemingly nodding.

"I think I will go back to my room now."