Hey, where did this new chapter just come from? I didn´t see it when I wrote into the FDK thread for chapter 35! But I´m definitely not complaining!
“If they wanted to drag their feet on this they could,” Susan said. She glanced at the television, where the endlessly repeating loops of Clark were being played over and over. “You’d almost think they were trying to get on your good side.”
Seems that someone in the government has started to use his brain! I think there are agents watching Lois and Susan right now. She is the way to get to Clark, and of course they know that.
“What happens if you succeed….get everything he’s asking for? He’ll get to go home along with the others and you’ll still be left behind.”
Will Lois be left behind? I hope not!
“So he stays,” Susan said. “Are you going to share him with the rest of the world? It’ll be worse than being married to a police officer; they at least get some time off. He’ll miss dinner dates, anniversaries, holidays. You’d be a widow throughout half your relationship.”
Lois was silent for a long moment. “It’d be worth it.”
“Your life would be a circus. You’d have to deal with paparazzi, with constant media exposure to your life.”
This reminded me immediately of CC Aiken´s `When the World finds out´, it´s the same problem. Clark would have to live in our world without a secret identity. You have listed the consequences really nicely.
“You’d never have a life of your own again. You think that people like Paris Hilton and Britney Spears have odd lives, just wait…you’ll have tabloids talking about you having an alien’s love child and church people wondering if you are committing a sin by being with someone who isn’t human.”
Oh yes, I can imagine those bigots...
“I’m here, whatever happens,” she said. “Unless you get divorced. I don’t do those.”
At Lois’s expression Susan grinned. “I like my illusions about the sanctity of marriage the way they are, thank you very much.”
Wow. A lawyer who isn´t completely cynical! Amazing! :rolleyes:
The problem was that Lois didn’t know how long he had before the government tried to use him in some way, whether it was by holding the passengers hostage or using some other means to get control of him.
They wouldn’t stop until they found a way.
Trying to control him... the means for that could be Lois or the passengers. Will they try bargaining with Clark? Like `You go and destroy the nuclear facilities in Iran for us and we give you back the passengers and open the rifts to your world´ or `Go and find Osama bin Laden´ or `Get Kim Jong-Il from North Korea and General Than Shwe from Myanmar and bring them over here´. (I actually would like to see No. 2 and 3...) I don´t think Clark will react well to that. He won´t let himself be used as a weapon and Superman never meddles in politics and state affairs.
The voice from behind him made his heart jump. No one should have been in the yard with him, and he turned slowly before unconsciously straightening as he realized who it was.
It was him.
He stepped aside, and the man…and Superman stepped forward and did something he couldn’t see to the gate. It slipped seamlessly into place and taking the lock, he locked it.
No longer `the man in the Superman suit´, it seems! Your `first´ Jacob has started thinking of him as Superman. How long will it take until others start calling him that, too?
“I don’t get to hand any of this out, but I know it’s going to get there. It makes me feel good to know that I can help.” Jacob leaned against the brick wall beside the third door. “When it comes down to it, fame, fortune, none of the rest of it really matters. All that matters to me is that I’m doing everything I can to leave the world a better place than it was when I got here.”
The other man nodded slowly. “And what if you can’t do anything?”
“Then you try to do better the next time, or you move on to somewhere that you can help. Nobody can be everywhere and do everything. All we can do is our best.”
Beautiful!
The other man sighed and as he turned away Jacob thought he heard him mumble something that sounded suspiciously like “Everybody’s a critic.”
First I began to laugh at this. But now, a question has reared its head: Is this Clark talking - or Shayne?
“I don’t want to lie.”
“You won’t have to,” Lois said. “People believe the version of you they see on TV. If they see a warm, caring person, it’ll help when the government starts labeling you as a terrorist.”
He drew in a short breath. “You think they’d do that?”
“Not if we tell the whole story before they can stop us,” Lois said “Once it’s out on the networks, it’ll be on You Tube and out on the net. They won’t be able to stop it.”
“And then they’ll have to make a decision in the light of day,” Clark said. “With the whole American populace watching.”
“With the whole world watching,” Lois said.
Taking a deep breath, he nodded. “Ok, let’s do it.”
YES! I hoped for that during the whole chapter. Will the agents try to interrupt? How will Lois address him during the interview? Clark? Not likely if the passengers watch TV, too... So there is only one name left...
I just hope you don´t make me wait such a long time again! It seemed to be going on forever! Each morning I checked the boards - nothing! Don´t do that to me again! Please!
