Chapter One Hundred and Fifty-Five: What People Say (Patreon)

I stared at the display in shock.

“One thousand four hundred and seventy-six negative articles?”

“Don’t take it personally,” Anne said. “Every hero gets bad press.”

“Not in one year. And the bylines - Atticus Whitney of the New York Times, Leesi Smith of the Chicago Tribune, Conrad Paulson on Fox News Online…. These aren’t small names.”

“There are positive articles, too,” Anne added. “I’ve been keeping track of them since, um…”

“Since my first appearance?”

“Yeah. I made a scrapbook. There’s more than two thousand positive articles out there, too.”

“When do people have the time to write this much? Don’t they have jobs?”

“For some of them it’s the job. Also, the article in the Times of London is the best of the lot.”

“Which is the worst?”

“Um.”

“Anne….”

“A lot of it is written by the crazies and conspiracy theorists. Nobody pays attention to them. Also, there’s a bunch of stuff that rehashes Thorn’s theories…”

“Who’s Thorn?”

“... Caroline Thorn. She’s written several articles about you in the Wire.”

A quick set of strokes brought up the Wire article. “Belessar - Champion or Cult Leader?”

“That’s the latest one. It’s a summary of all the theories she has.” Anne bit her lip. “It’s not very serious.”

“Twenty million views, seven hundred and fifty thousand likes. Not serious?”

“Why don’t you read through it first,” suggested Paul, “and then we’ll see what to do.”

I settled down and began to read.

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Belessar: Champion or Cult Leader?

Caroline Thorn

Over the past year, the inventor Belessar has emerged as one of the more prominent - if controversial - ultrahumans of our times.

Starting with his stealthy raids on the criminal gang known as the Grunters, a force of power-armor equipped mercenaries operating out of his home city of Tanisport, Belessar only came to popular notice during the attack on Liverpool, when he played a key role in the defence of the city. And as we all know, it was during the Battle of London that the world was introduced to the true extent of his capabilities.

For an ultra who has taken part in only three alien defences to date, Belessar’s rise has been meteoric. Displaying a range of capabilities few others have been able to match, this brave young hero has repeatedly thrown himself into the fray, vanquishing enemies that few can even confront.

Yet, amidst his rise to dizzying heights (now #14 on the Global Leaderboards), there are those who question whether this valiant defender is, in fact, all that he purports to be.

The roots of Belessar’s story can be traced to his hometown, Tanisport, where the first appearance of the young hero is shrouded in confusion and mystery.

A series of violent attacks last year, perpetrated by a black-armored ultra, were initially thought to be the work of a local gang known as the Blackhats. The initial attacks left a trail of dead and badly wounded victims, including a raid on a densely populated nightclub and a devastating fire that wrecked a warehouse. Local police were unable to trace out the assailant at first.

Until a famous raid at a Grunter-occupied installation that doubled as a prison for many, many victims – an event which changed everything.

“We came to know of Belessar at the mansion raid,” says a source in the Tanisport police department. “Under normal circumstances, we’d have detained him. The rescued victims, however, presented a more urgent problem.”

A problem that led to several rules being left by the wayside.

Legal experts have confirmed that, at the very least, the ultrahuman should have been charged with felony manslaughter. The exact death toll from the Tanisport mansion has not been confirmed, but it is widely believed to be upwards of twenty dead.

“Rescuing people doesn’t justify murder,” opined one legal scholar, “and that’s what this man did. It is shameful that he was not prosecuted to the fullest extent of federal law.”

Multiple eyewitnesses who spoke to this news channel requested protection of their identities, fearing the consequences. “Gangs in this city have never respected boundaries,” as one police officer put it.

Indeed, most ultrahumans who use combat powers outside of alien defence tend to fall in one of two categories - either law enforcement, or the gangs. While Belessar’s initial operations indicated him to be acting alone, local officials believe this to no longer be the case.

“His technology is too broad,” commented another inventor, who has worked with Belessar before. “Most inventors focus on a single theme initially, and gradually expand. Belessar seems to have developed a half-dozen completely different inventions at the same time, which is highly unusual.”

Such diversity is rare as well as remarkable, according to sources. “Belessar has produced heavy combat armor, plasma weapons, what seems to be antigravity technology of a sort, high-powered electrical blasts, nanotechnology based drones, armored ground vehicles, and advanced healing technology,” commented another. “Also, his combat armor comes in three completely different forms, ranging from normal-sized to what seems to be a miniature mech. Mastering even one field of technology would normally take a decent inventor two to three years.”

Could Belessar be a consortium of inventors, instead, each with a different speciality working together?

Lady Lumina, one of Tanisport’s leading ultrahumans, is quick to dismiss the theory. “Belessar is more of a lone wolf,” she opines. “He has very little tolerance for working with teams. For inventors to work together, there needs to be mutual trust, and I doubt he has been able to engender it.”

When asked about the famous - or notorious - Phoenix Company, who have followed Belessar into combat on more than one occasion, Lady Lumina is dismissive. “They follow, that’s the operative word. Being in charge does not make you a team player.”

Indeed, the loyalty of Phoenix Company to Belessar is an unusual outlier amongst ultrahumans. As some may be aware, the members of the Guard are reportedly drawn from those who have been rescued from dire circumstances by Belessar, an action for which many have publicly professed their undying gratitude.

Such behaviour is not uncommon among rescued hostages, notes eminent psychologist, Dr. Arve Meltzer. “Gratitude is a powerful motivator, and there is of course a tremendous desire to reciprocate. This is particularly true of these impressionable young women, for whom Belessar represents a ‘knight in shining armor’, if you’ll forgive the expression.”

If Belessar were to ask these young women to sign up for a militia, we asked, would they override their natural inclinations to do so?

“Definitely,” responds Dr. Meltzer. “It is doubtful that they would have thought through all the legal, ethical and social ramifications of such an act. In fact, one would advise a thorough audit of the company’s operations practices, to make sure that they are complying with local laws and regulations.”

While the Codice Juris Mercenario acknowledges that ultrahumans may serve as mercenary combatants, the employment of normal humans as mercenaries has long been illegal. This long-standing rule was only revoked in recent years - and at the behest of none other than Grumman, Belessar’s archrival and leader of the Grunter gang.

Not all experts agree with Dr. Meltzer, however. “It is very unusual for those in dangerous circumstances to, upon being freed, seek out even more danger,” comments one leading rehabilitation therapist. “One must ask, are the so-called Phoenix Company truly volunteers?”

Investigating officers working with the hostages rescued from the Grunter mansion have also expressed concern about the circumstances. “At first we didn’t even know what was happening,” reported one of the first responders. “Nobody suspected such a massive criminal hideout so close to the city.”

Indeed, the masking field used to conceal the Grunter hideout is considered by experts to be one of the most advanced examples of Grumman’s work. The field was powered by a fusion reactor purchased at great expense from another unidentified inventor, and represented six years of research by Grumman into masking technology, according to court documents.

One of the unanswered questions is, how exactly did Belessar come to discover what every other hero and investigative agency in the United States seems to have missed?

Fans of Belessar point to his lesser known companion, Nanocloud, commonly referred to as a formidable inventor in her own right. Her virtually invisible nanotech drones are now understood to be responsible for the enhanced visual surveillance capability that proved instrumental in the Battle of London, and have been used with incredible effect in signalling.

However, experienced researchers have expressed doubts about Nanocloud’s inventor status. “There is no doubt that she is a talented multi-tasker,” comments one, “but she has yet to show any elevated degree of technical skill. Plus, multi-tasking at that level is not a core inventor capability. It is far more likely that she is a Savant who manages the vast numbers of drones built by Belessar.”

Grave doubts have also been expressed about the surveillance capabilities these drones confer. “I feel like she could be watching me at any time,” says one Tanisport citizen. “All the time. It’s like a creepy sensation crawling across my neck.”

The degree and capability of Nanocloud’s network remains an unanswered question, with estimates ranging from a few blocks to a continent-wide intelligence gathering apparatus. While the latter is unlikely, privacy advocates everywhere have expressed concern about an unsupervised, privately controlled surveillance grid.

The latter, however, is in some ways the less concerning possibility.

At the Battle of New York, Nanocloud’s surveillance network was not deployed, despite the benefits it could bring. Its first major use was at Liverpool, two months later. Some speculate that the nanotech drones were only available in limited numbers at first, the reason behind this strange difference.

In that case, how did Belessar learn about the Grunter base? And what drives so many women to follow him?

Women whose number, at last count, includes the infamous ultrahuman terrorist, Agni.

Tanisport witnessed three fiery confrontations between Agni and Belessar less than a year ago, destroying a major shopping centre and leaving Brahampton Stadium, one of the city's leading sports venues, in ashes. Belessar's public challenge to Agni is a matter of record. Yet suddenly, in mid-fight, the intervention of a Phoenix Company soldier seems to have brokered an alliance between them.

This is even more impressive when we consider that Agni has worked alone for over a decade.

A clue to some of these mysteries may lie within court records of the trial of the Grunters. The trial itself was overshadowed in the news by the events that preceded it - the Battle of the Courthouse Steps, which resulted in the execution of Gravitic, co-leader of the Grunters.

Yet court records of the day reveal a little-known fact. Psychological examination of several of the women rescued from the Grunters showed heavy signs of Master influence.

The state's attorney has argued that these were due to the actions of Dreamspeaker, a Master in the employ of the Grunters, whose task it was to suppress rebellious impulses amongst the prisoners. The defence attorneys have claimed that the evidence of Master influence makes the testimony of the witnesses unreliable - a contention justifiably rejected by the court in its judgment.

If there was a Master amongst the Grunters charged with keeping the victims brainwashed, then why would they profess loyalty to Belessar now?

"Master influence can be detected by a Savant, but can only be removed by another Master,” opines another experienced researcher. “We cannot rule out the possibility that Belessar - or someone in his circle of influence - has significant mind-control capabilities.”

This points to a darker set of possibilities behind Belessar’s success.

The Chinese model of ultrahuman management has been cited as an alternative to the Codice Juris Mercenario. Chinese inventors are often assigned a Master, who implants loyalty and a need for cooperation as driving impulses. Authorities claim this increases teamwork and is one of the key factors why China, unlike many other countries, has not been the target of an alien attack in the last ten years.

“Most Masters are as vulnerable as normal humans,” advises a noted mind-control recovery therapist, “and so do not participate in direct physical confrontations.”

If encased in a combat suit, might this change?

“Certainly,” our source comments. “Masters seek to assert dominance. While the primary mode is mental, they would not hesitate to establish physical dominance when in possession of the means to do so.”

Is there a chance that Belessar is not an Inventor at all, but a Master with a stable of mind-controlled Inventors of various disciplines at his disposal?

“The possibility cannot be ruled out,” comments an experienced researcher. “It would also explain how he managed to persuade Agni in mid-battle to switch sides.”

This theory has been met with scepticism by the Tanisport Police Department. “Belessar’s an Inventor, and that’s that,” was the response from Commissioner Matthis. “We have no evidence to show he’s a Master.”

When asked about the reluctance of municipal, state and federal authorities to prosecute Belessar for numerous traffic and safety code violations - ranging from unauthorized vehicle modifications to wanton property damage - the Commissioner had no comment.

Even the ultrahumans of Tanisport were dismissive of this theory. “In every way, Belessar conducts himself as an Inventor, not a Master,” Lady Lumina observed. “Powers determine attitudes.”

Could Belessar have developed a device that, like his miraculous healing ray, influences mindsets? Lady Lumina refuses to rule out the possibility.

Whatever the reality of Belessar’s powers, there is no denying the young man’s accomplishments. At New York, Liverpool and London, he has certainly answered the world’s call to defend against the alien menace, living up to the traditions of ultras such as Nachtsturm.

Questions remain about the manner in which he engages with his adoring fans, his relationship with Phoenix Company, and the remarkable ease with which the enforcers of the law have agreed to look the other way on many, many occasions. Such questions must, unfortunately, remain unanswered at this time.