[center][URL=http://s17.photobucket.com/user/nowhereman716/media/traditional_superman_symbol___man_of_steel_style_by_randallmaynard-d4x5qqm_zps3436170a.jpg.html][IMG]http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b73/nowhereman716/traditional_superman_symbol___man_of_steel_style_by_randallmaynard-d4x5qqm_zps3436170a.jpg[/IMG][/URL][/center] [URL=http://s17.photobucket.com/user/nowhereman716/media/Superman%20RPG/metropolis1-LLMOS_zpse430fc09.png.html][IMG]http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b73/nowhereman716/Superman%20RPG/metropolis1-LLMOS_zpse430fc09.png[/IMG][/URL] Metropolis. It's referred to by many as the "City of Tomorrow," but very few people really grasp the full meaning of that. It's very easy to look at the burgeoning future-tech companies like LexCorp, STAR Labs, SteelWorks, and dozens of smaller companies in the Hypersector district, and see dazzling displays of exotic technology, flying cars, mechanized armor suits, experimental propulsion systems, and all manner of other gizmos that will become commonplace for humanity over the coming decades. What few people appreciate are the immense leaps that have already happened. First and foremost, Metropolis is far and away the most automated city anywhere in the world. Self-driving cabs, trucks, buses, and trains have revolutionized the transportation industry, allowing for more efficient and reliable ways to get around the city and all but eliminating the infamous urban gridlock. Teams of LexCorp construction robots working 24/7 shifts can build (and, given the action that frequently happens in this city [i]re[/i]build) in days what would take months for human crews to accomplish. Robotic surgeons perform procedures with a level of precision and accuracy that would be impossible for a human doctor....at least not without expensive cybernetic augmentations. Mass-produced all-purpose 'bots can serve as anything from mail clerks to bartenders, and outrageously expensive human-analogue androids often serve as personal assistants, receptionists, bodyguards, and even sex partners for very rich and powerful of the city's elite. Automation doesn't stop with physical machines, though-- 'bot intelligence programs have quickly taken hold in the white collar sector as well. Paralegal 'bots can search through massive amounts of legal data and find in seconds, medical 'bot intelligences can diagnose and treat illnesses with fantastic accuracy, counselor programs can guide people into successful and happy lives tailored to their own specific needs--a major necessity, considering how many people had found themselves out of work when their old jobs were automated. Even at the very top, it's not uncommon to see CEOs and city politicians at the very least have some form of 'bot intelligence in an advisory role. In fact, there are at least fourteen different start-up companies in the last year whose businesses have soared after replacing their executives with high-functioning AI. And LexCorp, of course, has only one actual human being in its administrative staff-- every project head and team leader beneath Luthor himself is an AI he specifically programmed for the task. It's easy to take a passing glance at Metropolis and assume that it's making massive leaps into the future because of people like, well, myself and Kara being there. Honestly, though, it's the other way around-- I came to Metropolis because if I wanted the nature of being 'Superman' to have any meaning on the world's future, there was really no better place to be. That's not to say the proliferation of all this new technology and its impact on city living is all ideal; for starters, there's the very real and unavoidable fact that the man who designs and sells an overwhelming majority of the increasingly necessary hardware to keep the City of Tomorrow running is a megalomaniac psychopath who has tried to kill me--as well as several billion of his fellow humans-- on several occasions. There's the issue of countless people in multiple fields who are finding themselves unemployed as their jobs become irrelevant, replaced by 'bots or AI, and who are now starting to crowd areas like Hob's Bay. For every well-adjusted person who's been able to adapt and thrive in the 'post-metahuman' climate, there's another who's come down with a crippling case of 'future shock' and has to be talked down from stepping in front of a train or shooting up their former workplace. And the increasing gray areas of what constitutes 'humanity' as robots and AI grow increasingly sophisticated and lifelike, as cybernetic augmentations can alter a person far beyond their normal capabilities, and as people from other planets like myself, Kara, J'onn, the young heroine Starfire, and others migrate to Earth. Which is another reason I chose to set up shop in the Big Apricot-- 'Tomorrow' isn't always easy or pleasant, but we all should face the challenges of Tomorrow together. There is, of course, one other very significant reason I came to Metropolis: The [i]Daily Planet[/i]. Sometimes referred to as 'the last true free press in America,' the [i]Planet[/i] is every bit an institution in Metropolis as watching the Monarchs on Opening Day or midnight screenings of the [i]Giant Turtle-Man[/i] films in New Bohemia. While the printed word is dying out, the [i]Planet[/i] was the first of the major papers to transition to online journalism, and is still far more reputable and respected than sensationalist papers like the [i]Daily Bugle[/i] in New York, or any number of biased bloggers promoting their personal agenda. Despite attempted takeovers by Morgan Edge's massive Galaxy multimedia conglomerate (a subsidiary of LexCorp), Perry White and the rest of us in the bullpen have managed to keep the [i]Planet[/i] free of influence from government censorship or corporate interest, thanks to support from a dedicated readership which counts for about one in every five citizens in Metropolis.....as well as renting out most of the old office space in the building to small businesses. We may not have worldwide reach or limitless funding, but we've got enough integrity, respect, and outright talent to keep the paper profitable, if just barely. [color=f9ad81]"Kent! My office, now!"[/color] I look up with a start from my desk, halfway through the re-write of my piece on the Metropolis Museum of Art's exhibition on 'D-5 Myx,' a new post-postmodern form of expressionism inspired by my annoying tormentor from the Fifth Dimension. Perry's just spent the last half hour sparring with Lois over her article connecting the US Army's experimental "Ghost Soldier" project with banned Phantom Zone technology outlawed by the UN in the aftermath of General Zod's war, so he's probably about to blow off some steam by taking me to the woodshed over something I did. Sheepishly adjusting my glasses, I get up and make the long Walk of Shame across the newsroom. From the sports desk, Steve Lombard chuckles. [color=ed1c24]"Dead man walking, folks, we've got a dead man walking!"[/color] [color=ec008c]"Oh, leave him alone,"[/color] Cat Grant chides him. [color=ec008c]"Kent's already got enough to worry about, being bumped back to Human Interest, he hasn't even noticed to do anything about that [i]awful[/i] cow-lick in his hair!"[/color] Self-consciously, I try to slick my hair back into shape-- it tends to blow around and get messy any time I go over Mach 5, so it's probably been like that for most of the morning. [color=f7941d]"Clark, buddy,"[/color] Jimmy pats me on the shoulder as he catches up with me, [color=f7941d]"word around the rumor mill is that you've just popped your proverbial cherry. Lunch is on me to celebrate."[/color] [color=0072bc]"Ermm, thanks, but....I mean, what's that--"[/color] Perry doesn't raise his voice, but even if I didn't have super-senses, I could feel the man's impatient glare. [color=0072bc]"Coming, Mister White!"[/color] I say, hurrying the rest of the way to the office before closing the door behind me. [color=0072bc]"You, erm, you wanted to speak to me?"[/color] Perry doesn't speak, but closes his eyes and gives a condescending nod. [color=f9ad81]"Have a seat, Kent."[/color] I sit down, slouching a bit in my chair so that even seated, Perry towers above me. [color=f9ad81]"I wanted to take a moment to congratulate you, Clark,"[/color] he starts. [color=f9ad81]"You've finally managed a milestone in your career here. Normally it takes maybe a month or so for a [i]Planet[/i] journalist to make it, but you've managed, what, nine years here? That's a record in and of itself, but you've finally gotten on the board. So again, congratulations, Clark. On your first lawsuit."[/color] [color=0072bc]"Wait, my...my first [i]what?[/i]"[/color] [color=f9ad81]"That piece you filed two months ago about the [i]Excalibur[/i] accident."[/color] [color=0072bc]"........ah."[/color] The [i]Excalibur[/i] was an experimental spacecraft built by the Thunder Corporation, an aerospace company founded by former Future Foundation employees. The spacecraft itself boasted experimental propulsion technology that could theoretically warp it across the solar system instantaneously, and had an AI interface nearly identical to that of the Army's "Metal Zero" suit before that program was mercifully canceled. The official story was that the [i]Excalibur[/i] was meant purely as an exploratory vessel for NASA. My own findings, however, showed that most of the hardware aboard the craft was meant for military use, and it was incredibly likely that it was in fact a prototype for SHIELD's staunchly anti-extraterrestrial SWORD division. All this, tragically, was made moot when the [i]Excalibur[/i] and her crew pilot Hank Henshaw lost in a hurried test flight. [color=0072bc]"I, erm.....I realize that it may have been too soon after the tragedy to report that story,"[/color] I begin, [color=0072bc]"but the public deserved to know that the military is still fueling anti-ET paranoia, and that it cost a man his life!"[/color] [color=f9ad81]"You don't think I know that, Kent?!"[/color] Perry roars, then takes a deep breath. [color=f9ad81]"I grew up in Hob's Bay in the 70s, when the race riots were still at their worst. This was back before mutants and ETs and robots were the feared minority of the time: all you had to do to be feared and mistrusted was have darker skin than your neighbors. So I took that to heart, and I took it [i]personally[/i]. Any time I saw someone from my neighborhood being pushed around or kicked while they were down, whether it was from the landlord or the cops or a shop owner who gave you dirty looks, I'd come down on them like the Wrath of God. I'd rake up any piece of dirt I could on people I thought were oppressors and fear-mongers, and I'd expose them to the world all for anyone who picked up a copy of the [i]Planet[/i] to see. And do you know what happened?"[/color] [color=0072bc]".....what?"[/color] [color=f9ad81]"I got my ass [i]fired,[/i] Kent,"[/color] he says flatly. [color=f9ad81]"I stopped checking my sources. I discarded facts in favor of a narrative. I made the story about drawing conclusions, writing what I was [i]feeling[/i], and not about what I could actually prove. I ruined the reputations of people who didn't deserve it, and because I cried wolf on the wrong people, bad people got away with doing bad things because people wouldn't believe my stories anymore. It cost me my reputation, my respect, and for a while, my job. It took [i]years[/i] for George Taylor to give me another chance to prove myself and work my way up the chain. Which brings me to why you're working Human Interest now, and why the Thunder Corporation is slapping us with a suit...."[/color] He pulls up last month's edition with the [i]Excalibur[/i] story on it. [color=f9ad81]"This piece is the kind of fearless, fiery exposé I hadn't seen from you in ages,"[/color] he says, [color=f9ad81]"the kind of stuff you wrote when you were a freelancer, and why I wanted to hire you on. But it's full of 'seems like,' and 'sounds like,' and 'you can probably guess.' To be honest, I believe the story.....but it's not about what you believe or what you feel, Kent. It's about what you can [i]prove.[/i] I can't imagine Big Blue out there is too happy that Uncle Sam is still working on 'anti-alien' hardware...."[/color] He's right-- no matter how many times myself, Kara, J'onn, and others act on mankind's behalf, we're always the subject of suspicion, like we're always just about to sound the horn and call in an invading fleet of bug-eyed monsters. I happen to take that sort of thing personally. [color=f9ad81]".....but there's something he said way back when Lois first interviewed him that I think you ought to keep in mind. 'I'm here to fight for Truth and Justice,' he said. Justice is great, it's essential......but keep in mind, Kent. 'Truth' has to come [i]before[/i] 'Justice,' not after. Understood?"[/color] [color=0072bc]".....yes, sir. I, erm....I just wanted to--"[/color] [b][i]**BOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!**[/i][/b] The sound of an explosion punches my eardrums, though it's barely a dull [i]thump[/i] to everyone else. Sure enough, though, the pillar of black smoke rising from between the gleaming towers of the Hypersector draws everyone else's attention. [color=f9ad81]"Great Caesar's Ghost...."[/color] Perry mutters to himself as he looks out his window. [color=f9ad81]"Kent, if you wanna redeem yourself, grab Olsen before Lane does and get to--.........Kent?"[/color] Before Perry can even glance in my direction, I'm already gone, changing in an elevator shaft before speeding up to the roof of the building and out into the open air, speeding towards the source of the explosion. Schott Robotics, a small but extremely profitable LexCorp offshoot, focused primarily on high-end personal assistant androids. Its clientele includes some of the wealthiest and most influential people in the world, paying millions for Schott's models, which far outclass even the leading models in terms of human-like qualities. Far from the utility of menial labor robots, Schott androids are often seen as 'toys' for the super-rich. And its main office is in the middle of being bombed. Clark Kent can worry about the quality of his articles later. Right now, there are still people in danger...... [URL=http://s17.photobucket.com/user/nowhereman716/media/Superman%20RPG/svsave_zps07da5833.png.html][IMG]http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b73/nowhereman716/Superman%20RPG/svsave_zps07da5833.png[/IMG][/URL] .....and [i]that[/i] makes it a job for Superman.