that’s a good example of how this organization works. And it works well. There are now almost twenty million Trutopians, all living without poverty, without fear, without restrictions on their freedom, politics or religion, and without crime. If this sounds like the way you would like to live, then contact your nearest Trutopian center.
“This is how we are going to save the world, my friends. Not with huge armies, or trade embargoes or enough nuclear weapons to destroy the planet a thousand times over. Not even with superpowered humans. The world will be saved by ordinary people like you and me. People who care enough to stand up and be counted. So stand up. Be counted. Save the world.”
The transmission ended and the television set automatically turned itself off.
Colin stared at the now-blank screen.
He jumped when the telephone rang, and made a grab for it. “Hello?”
“Colin? It’s me,” Reginald Kinsella said. “Are you hungry? There’s this great place—”
“Hey, I was just watching…That was…”
“Are you OK?”
“You…You’re right. We can do it. I don’t know how much help
I
will be, but I’m willing to give it a go.”
After a moment’s pause, Kinsella said, “Colin, I appreciate that, I really do. But you should know that the military—and not just in the States, but all over the world—well, they’re not going to respond positively to that broadcast. A world without crime, hunger or poverty will need armies even less than it’ll need superheroes. I’m pretty certain that they’re all making plans to move against us.”
“We’ll stop them. You have me on your side now.”
“Even if it means…?”
“Yes,” Colin said. “Even if it means I’ll be going up against the New Heroes.”
10
R ENATA AND D ANNY WERE EATING LUNCH in Sakkara’s dining hall when Razor dragged over a chair and sat down. He slumped forward until his forehead thumped off the table.
Renata and Danny continued eating in silence.
“Does anybody,” Razor asked, his voice muffled, “want to know how my day is going?”
“No,” Danny said.
“Anybody
else
?”
“Go on then,” Renata said. “Tell us.”
Razor rolled his head to the side and looked at them. “Slowly. There’s a saying: The first ninety percent of the work takes ninety percent of the time, and the remaining ten percent of the work takes the
other
ninety percent of the time.”
Danny was about to reply when Impervia approached the table.
“Meeting in Ops,” the woman said. “You’re all invited.”
Razor lifted his head. “Even me?”
“No. You go back to work on the armor.”
“Am I allowed to eat first?”
“You’ve got five minutes.”
Razor groaned and allowed his head to drop down again.
Danny and Renata followed Impervia out of the room and down to Ops, where they found almost everyone else crowded into the small room.
“Everything is changing,” General Piers growled. “Everything. The media battle we’re fighting with the Trutopians is not going well. Kinsella and his people are smart: They know how to use the system and they are shaking the public’s confidence. Congress has been talking about us. We do
not
want Congress talking about us.” He turned to Danny and Renata. “Tonight’s patrol of Topeka is canceled. I want you training as much as possible over the next few days. You’re to prepare yourselves for a trip to Romania to bring back your friend.”
Danny froze in the act of biting his nails. “You found Colin?”
“Almost. He made a phone call to your friend Brian McDonald. We traced the call to a Trutopian community in northern Romania. We know that Kinsella is also in Romania right now. If he can successfully enlist Colin to the Trutopians, they’ve won. We have a team scouting it out now, but the Trutopians are making things difficult for us.”
“They’re not talking?”
“No, worse. They
are
talking. Every one of them who spoke to Colin or even just saw him has
“This is how we are going to save the world, my friends. Not with huge armies, or trade embargoes or enough nuclear weapons to destroy the planet a thousand times over. Not even with superpowered humans. The world will be saved by ordinary people like you and me. People who care enough to stand up and be counted. So stand up. Be counted. Save the world.”
The transmission ended and the television set automatically turned itself off.
Colin stared at the now-blank screen.
He jumped when the telephone rang, and made a grab for it. “Hello?”
“Colin? It’s me,” Reginald Kinsella said. “Are you hungry? There’s this great place—”
“Hey, I was just watching…That was…”
“Are you OK?”
“You…You’re right. We can do it. I don’t know how much help
I
will be, but I’m willing to give it a go.”
After a moment’s pause, Kinsella said, “Colin, I appreciate that, I really do. But you should know that the military—and not just in the States, but all over the world—well, they’re not going to respond positively to that broadcast. A world without crime, hunger or poverty will need armies even less than it’ll need superheroes. I’m pretty certain that they’re all making plans to move against us.”
“We’ll stop them. You have me on your side now.”
“Even if it means…?”
“Yes,” Colin said. “Even if it means I’ll be going up against the New Heroes.”
10
R ENATA AND D ANNY WERE EATING LUNCH in Sakkara’s dining hall when Razor dragged over a chair and sat down. He slumped forward until his forehead thumped off the table.
Renata and Danny continued eating in silence.
“Does anybody,” Razor asked, his voice muffled, “want to know how my day is going?”
“No,” Danny said.
“Anybody
else
?”
“Go on then,” Renata said. “Tell us.”
Razor rolled his head to the side and looked at them. “Slowly. There’s a saying: The first ninety percent of the work takes ninety percent of the time, and the remaining ten percent of the work takes the
other
ninety percent of the time.”
Danny was about to reply when Impervia approached the table.
“Meeting in Ops,” the woman said. “You’re all invited.”
Razor lifted his head. “Even me?”
“No. You go back to work on the armor.”
“Am I allowed to eat first?”
“You’ve got five minutes.”
Razor groaned and allowed his head to drop down again.
Danny and Renata followed Impervia out of the room and down to Ops, where they found almost everyone else crowded into the small room.
“Everything is changing,” General Piers growled. “Everything. The media battle we’re fighting with the Trutopians is not going well. Kinsella and his people are smart: They know how to use the system and they are shaking the public’s confidence. Congress has been talking about us. We do
not
want Congress talking about us.” He turned to Danny and Renata. “Tonight’s patrol of Topeka is canceled. I want you training as much as possible over the next few days. You’re to prepare yourselves for a trip to Romania to bring back your friend.”
Danny froze in the act of biting his nails. “You found Colin?”
“Almost. He made a phone call to your friend Brian McDonald. We traced the call to a Trutopian community in northern Romania. We know that Kinsella is also in Romania right now. If he can successfully enlist Colin to the Trutopians, they’ve won. We have a team scouting it out now, but the Trutopians are making things difficult for us.”
“They’re not talking?”
“No, worse. They
are
talking. Every one of them who spoke to Colin or even just saw him has
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