118/Writ by a Fiery Hand

Writ by a Fiery Hand
Date of Scene:	25 February 2020
Location:	Bullpen - Daily Planet Building
Synopsis:	Drawing attention to the wheels of genocide.
Cast of Characters:	Douglas Ramsey, Lois Lane

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Douglas Ramsey has posed:
Daily Planet: Lois Lane's Office. 10:15 PM

It was probably alarming when the article Ms. Lane was working on saved itself, and a black chat window popped up on her computer, titled 'WarlockWare 1.0 - Chat Window'... moreso when text began to pop up.

"Good evening, Ms. Lane. My apologies for interrupting your work. I hope you'll forgive me. I wanted a moment of your time, and I won't keep you for long.

My callsign is 'Cypher'. It means 'person who isn't important.'

This is a secure communication window. All evidence of it will delete itself off of your computer when our conversation ends.

I have something I want to give you. You may type in this window to reply to me. Do you have any questions before I continue?"

Lois Lane has posed:
While Lois had dealt with confidential informants before, usually they didn't take over her screen with a surprise chat window. She does, however, manage not to jump in surprise. Shaking her head a bit, she leans back in closer so she can type in the chat box in response.

'Alright, I'm listening. This something I can take physical notes on? How secret are we talking here?'

Douglas Ramsey has posed:
"It isn't secret: I am.

I am a Mutant. Think of me as a brain in a vat, wired to a computer, if you like."

Said brain in a vat takes a sip of his Protein Shake from his secret lair in sinister... Westchester County, NY and continues typing. He's on the couch while watching an episode of Magnum P.I. and wearing a pair of plush T-Rex slippers. The anonymity of the internet.

"I was in Genosha. I am also aware there is precious little that has been released to the media so far... this story is being buried. 16 million people are being buried... because the overwhelming majority of Genosha's population were mutants."

"The first file I'm going to give you includes satellite images of what's left of the country. As you can see, the devastation is total."

The file pops up in the chat window, along with a download function.

"The images provided also show images of Sentinel robots that were destroyed during the assault on the country. This is a holocaust, Ms. Lane. They'll blame Magneto for it, but whatever his crimes, these people were murdered for the crime of existing.

Shall I continue?"

Lois Lane has posed:
Lois takes a moment to look around her before she focuses her attention fully on the computer. She directs the file to download while she reads.

'Sounds like you've got some good intel on this. I'm guessing that's why you're hiding.'

Douglas Ramsey has posed:
"You might say that." Doug replies, looking up at Tom Selleck fighting a man in a helicopter before returning to the keyboard.

"I expect that whoever's responsible for this won't be content with one atrocity -- they will go after those who are left. Are you familiar with how mutant genetics work, Ms. Lane?"

"First-generation Mutants are born to ostensibly human parents. A child with a meta-human parent will almost always have an emergent mutant power, based on the available evidence. In a family with one mutant child the odds of any other children developing a mutant power are incredibly high, even if both parents are homo sapiens sapiens. Consider that in light of the lengths the perpetrators of this were already willing to go to."

"Yes, my intel is good. I was there. I'm one of a handful of survivors. It may be that Magneto himself died during the attack. I'm trying to find out... even I don't know."

"The next file I'm going to send you is a database of the victims. There are millions of names, ages, points of origin... all the information I was able to compile."

"These people had families. At the very least, they deserve to be advised of what's happened."

Lois Lane has posed:
Lois seems thoughtful as she types out a response.

'So are these confirmed victims or is there a separate list for those who may have survived? I know you said there are few that did.' She takes a moment to glance through the satelite photos.

Douglas Ramsey has posed:
"There's still a lot of confusion on the ground and there isn't precisely an outpouring of international support for an isolationist country ruled by one of the most feared men alive." Doug replies, typing quickly. "My abilities lend themselves to gathering information but even I have my limits."

The devastation is... total. Hammer Bay looks like one of the bad future scenes from 'The Terminator'.

"There's going to be some errors but the casualty list is so high... that I would be happy for there to be more of them."

Lois Lane has posed:
'Right,' Lois types. 'Gathering information is good, though. The more information we get here, the more we can put out there to help the world understand what's going on... and to help make public all the people who died. Their families at least deserve that.'

Douglas Ramsey has posed:
"On that, we are agreed. There were many, many people I could take this to, Ms. Lane. I chose you because your record speaks for itself: you think nothing of wagering your life in order to bring the truth to light. If you pursue this, you may end up in the crosshairs of some very dangerous bigots."

"It's obvious that whoever the guilty parties are, they have a large industrial base and a significant buildup of incredibly advanced military hardware."

"I chose to come to you because you are fearless. But even so, I apologize in advance."

Lois Lane has posed:
Lois grins a little before typing. 'Dealing with dangerous bigots is kind of my specialty. So don't worry about that too much. I've figured things out before, I'll figure them out again. These people deserve to be known. I'll see to it that the information gets circulating. Maybe that'll cause more information to come out of the woodwork. But I appreciate the apology, even if it's not needed.'

Douglas Ramsey has posed:
"And I appreciate your willingness to hear me out. This goes beyond the people that are already dead. There are countless people still in danger, not just Mutants. These people are sadists, and I have zero down they plan to take their purgation to the next level just as soon as they're ready."

"When I find more information, I'll share it with you. In the meantime, I have one request - don't let them bury this or brush it off."

"Having said my piece," He types, "I'll leave you to your work. Please feel free to use your own contacts to verify my information, you'll find that it's accurate."

"Do you have any questions for me before I close this out?"

Lois Lane has posed:
'You keep supplying information, I'll find some way to distribute it. I'll do my best to get it out there. Give me a heads up if you find anything particularly dangerous so I'll know to keep my head down.' Lois replies. 'No questions. I think I can work with what you gave me.'

Douglas Ramsey has posed:
"Then I will leave you to it. Good-bye, Ms. Lane. It's been a pleasure. I politely ask that you don't try to find me again. As a brain in a jar shut up in a closet, I value my privacy." Doug types, before the window closes itself, with nary a trace remaining.