Project Genesys

Project Genesys

After the school bell rang, Jimmy Lee raced through the streets of Chinatown to get home, a wide grin pasted on his face. The last day of school was done, and now the summer was his. In his mind he made a list of everything he wanted to do with his vacation, and a minute later made decisions and revisions that another minute reversed. But first he needed to train for the city kung fu championship – he’d even the score with Eddy this time or he’d eat his shorts!

He bounded up the steps to the small apartment he shared with his mother. He had lived here with her for as long as he could remember. His father had disappeared when he was only two, and though sometimes he closed his eyes and tried to picture him, the image was never clear. He had tried talking to mother about him, but the discussion always made her sad, and Jimmy didn’t pursue it anymore.

His happy mood evaporated within moments of stepping in the door to the apartment. It was obvious from his mother’s expressions that something was… off.

“Mu? What’s wrong?” Jimmy ran a hair through his spiky black hair to get his bangs out of his eyes.

“Du zi, you have had visitors.” His mother nervously clenched a piece of paper in her hands, which she tremulously pushed towards him. “They wore black suits. They did not have patience to show courtesy to an elderly Chinese woman. Have you gotten into trouble, nan?”

“No, mu, I haven’t done anything. What did they want?”

“They wanted to speak with you. They left this, but you know my reading is not so good, and as I said, they did not have patience for an old Chinese woman and her questions.”

She pressed the paper into Jimmy’s hands and he began to read. It was a letter of acceptance, telling him he had been given a full scholarship to attend a summer martial arts academy and training camp. His brow furrowed, his mind was troubled. He had never heard of this academy, and he had certainly never applied for any scholarships or programs. Still, they were offering him a free ride; he decided he should at least check it out.

*****

A week later Jimmy climbed out of a Lincoln Towncar in Montana, wondering how he’d been talked into this. This place was in the middle of nowhere! It looked like he’d just given up his fun summer in San Francisco for insect bites and poison ivy.

And the ‘facility’ – what was up with that? He hadn’t really known what to expect, but not this. Instead of a dojo or even a building, the car was parked in front of a small mountain in the middle of Montana, with big double steel doors open wide in the side of the solid cliff face. Currently a small stream of young people moved through the doors in single file.

“What is this place?” he asked the man who had driven him here.

“You’ll find out soon enough. Later rather than sooner if you don’t take your place in line.”

“I think I changed my mind; I don’t want to go to summer training anymore. Can I just get dropped off back in San Francisco?”

“Sure, kid, if you can get someone to come get you. I’m not driving back that way.”

Jimmy sighed and his shoulders slumped. Whatever he’d gotten himself into, it seemed he was stuck. Might as well make the most of it.

He scanned the line and spotted a real hottie talking to a small group of guys who had gathered around her. She was fairly short, but very slender, and looked darn good in her tight pants and leather jacket. Best of all, her hair was dyed with purple streaks that ran through it. A punker; just his type. In fact, now that he looked, there were a lot of cute girls here! Maybe this trip wouldn’t be so bad after all.

Jimmy turned to speak but the man had disappeared. He shrugged, stuffed his hands in his pockets, and started whistling softly as he took a spot at the end of the line.

Next: Class is in session…

Sniktch is back! Yipee!

*Dougal takes a seat in one of the rear seats of the cinema, puts his feet on the box with cold beerbottles which glint with condensed water and waits for the movie*

Ohhh....I'll bite. What's next? Inquiring minds want to know.

Registration just made Jimmy more uneasy. He was processed into the program along with the hundred or so other kids waiting in line. Questioning his peers, he found them to be just as clueless about what was happening as he was. One kid thought it was a special summer camp for advanced students, another’s parents made him come, and one girl he talked to, actually a freshman at Princeton University, had been under the impression that she was taking a summer internship.

The adults were tight lipped and not answering questions, but there was a… military feel to their uniforms and actions that just compounded Jimmy’s nervousness. Then finally it was his turn to be processed.

He approached the desk warily and was given a numbered name tag by a squat, bulldog looking woman in a nurse’s uniform. She tied a tag around the handle of his bag and threw it on a cart, then he was directed inside the building, all bare steel and artificial light, and then into a small room where another nurse awaited, this time a nervous, greasy looking man.

He was instructed to disrobe, and when he had, the man, still not answering any questions, collected his clothing and performed a full physical upon him. He was then issued a plain, drab jumpsuit of a dark greenish khaki color and given a shot. His clothing was not returned, but the contents of his pockets were: a worn leather wallet, a pack of matches, some loose change, a Bic lighter, and a pack of Marlboro Reds. Jimmy tried again to question the nurse, about the contents of the syringe and the program in general, but once more he was rebuffed, the man assuring him that all his questions would be answered soon.

After processing, he was shuffled back into the hallways and placed in another line, this time so he could be assigned a room. A lot of the kids were laughing and joking with each other, but here and there he could see his concerns and worries reflected in the eyes of his peers.

Jimmy shrugged. No sense worrying over something he couldn’t control, after all, and he could either enjoy himself and start making new friends or stand in line miserable and afraid. The nurse did assure him his questions would be answered soon, after all. If need be, he’d start worrying again when that happened, or when he had something more concrete to alarm him.

He noticed some sort of armed guard moving down the hallway, wearing futuristic looking black body armor with a pistol holstered at his hip. Jimmy also noticed that the man was smoking a cigarette, and that ‘No Smoking’ signs were absent in the hallways.

Jimmy grinned then, pulled a Red out of his pack and lit up. The first drag of smoke entered his lungs and he exhaled, feeling much calmer already. He turned to the kid next to him and started speaking, “Hey man, you have any idea what’s going on either? By the way, name’s Jimmy Lee.”

Jimmy offered his hand and the youth shook it. He was a sandy haired youth of medium build, dressed in the same drab jumpsuit. The nametag on his breast read “Jeff Connelly, 035672.” Jimmy glanced at his own: “Jim Lee, 044665.”

Jeff stared at the lit cigarette with a mixture of nervousness and longing. “Name’s Jeff, man,” he chuckled, pointing at his tag. “You sure you should be smoking in here? Aren’t you worried you’ll get in trouble?”

“Nah, didn’t you see that soldier or guard or whatever? He was smoking. Plus I don’t see any signs.”

“Cool,” Jeff paused for a moment, then, “Can I bum one from ya? Mine are all in my bag.”

“Sure thing,” Jimmy handed him a smoke and his lighter and they started talking. Some of the surrounding kids gave them dirty looks, but Jimmy returned these with grins and blew his smoke at them. They coughed and tried to ignore him.

His new friend Jeff was from a backwoods in Texas called Brenham. He lived with his mother; his father had been a Marine but had taken off when Jeff was two. Jeff didn’t really remember him. He didn’t know why he was here, but thought he’d signed up for an outdoor camp – a month of living in the rough and exploring the Montana wilderness.

“That sounded like a great time. Not so sure I like this under the mountain crap,” Jeff finished.

Jimmy started to reply when Jeff’s name was called, followed a moment later by his own. They had reached the front of the line at last, and each approached the desk and was handed a card with a room number and a small map showing the location of the room. Jimmy and Jeff compared cards and made the best discovery of the trip – they were roommates!

A short walk later they reached their room and decided that their ‘cell’ left a lot to be desired. For one thing they had two more roommates: a heavyset kid named Wade who was 18 but looked more like 30 (they soon discovered that this is what happened when you started drinking beer heavily at age 10) and a thin freckled redhead named Alan. The room was maybe 10 by 15 and had two bunk beds and a desk jammed into it, plus a door leading to a cramped bathroom and stand-up shower, and another door leading to a closet which held their bags and several extra jumpsuits. All the clothing had been removed from their luggage.

At least they were guys, thought Jimmy. He’d hate to be a girl in these living conditions. Jimmy introduced himself to his new roommates, took a quick restroom break, told Jeff he’d catch him later, and set out to explore the halls.

Next: A pleasant surprise…

Ummm. Jimmy is FAR more laid-back than I would be in his shoes. Perhaps he doesn't have an active enough imagination...

How old is he, anyway?

Notes on the Story Hour

This story hour will actually follow the course of our ongoing M&M game, which started slowly with one player, and added PCs as it moved forward. So the SH might start a little slow, but I'm trying to capture the same mood as the actual sessions, and my own players growing concerns, etc. Yes, the plotline was 'lifted' from an actual comic - I knew I was safe because none of my players read it - however I'm sure some of you will recognize it as the story moves forward. But of course, my players being less predictable than comic book writers, it soon diverges and starts to write itself.

I will update this as fast as time allows moving forward, but I can’t promise updates will be regular or often. I certainly hope so, but you never know what life is gonna throw at you. We should see the appearance of the second PC in the next update, and the story should start to move a bit more quickly after that


Shadow: Jimmy is 16. This game started as basically a freeform between myself and Jimmy's player, and I think he was just kind of sitting back and going along for the ride to see where I took him. He did ask a lot of questions, but I wasn't giving him any answers and he didn't push. Yet I recall their being rumblings and grumblings amongst the players, but none of them felt they had the power to do anything about the situation. I had to create a crisis, and then things got interesting quickly.

Another note about the game: When the PCs are introduced they are at PL 3, and none of them have any powers beyond an average human. Jimmy knows a little kung fu, but he's basically your average teenager. This may change as the story progresses...

whoa... first post with the new boards...

Alright, I'll finally read a SH. sheesh.

The halls were crowded with other students looking for their rooms or just hanging out. He passed an open door where a tall blonde kid sat on a bed and tuned a guitar. A very pale youth wearing lipstick and mascara sulked in the bunk above him, pretending to be asleep. A lot of girls were visible, too – seems the housing was co-ed. Excellent.

Then Jimmy saw her, the girl with purple streaked hair that caught his attention outside. She was talking to a shy looking red head, the same girl he’d talked to in line outside, and a short kid with his back turned. The punker looked somehow just as sexy in her drab jumpsuit, her lips curled around a smoking cigarette, her face animated and cheerful. A nearby nurse favored the trio with the occasional disapproving look.

Jimmy approached, the other kid turned around, and he found himself face to face with…

“Eddy? Eddy is that you? What the hell are you doing here, man? I thought you’d be in ‘Frisco getting ready for the tournament!”

“Jimmy! I could ask you the same question – how’d you end up in this hell-hole?”

It was Eddy Chang, his best friend and chief rival from back home. Eddy was a few inches shorter than Jimmy but made up for it in muscle mass, probably outweighing Jimmy by a good twenty or so pounds. Jimmy had always gone for a nimble, agile, constantly moving style while Eddy concentrated on efficient but brutal strikes and throws. Their fathers had been friends in the armed service, had both disappeared around the same time, and the two of them had grown up together on the streets of Chinatown, discovered martial arts at the same time, and spent the last few years trading victories in the scholastic tournaments. And now they had both wound up here, as if it were meant to be, and Jimmy already felt a lot better seeing a friendly and familiar face.

They stared at each other until the silence started to grow uncomfortable, and Eddy ran a hand threw his short, spiky brown hair and grinned, “Well, anyway, you don’t know how glad I am to see you here, Jimmy. Let me introduce you to my new pals here –“ he motioned to the purple haired girl, “this is Roxy from Reno, and over here is her roomy…“

“Kate, from Princeton,” Jimmy finished. “We met outside.” Jimmy flashed a winning smile at the two girls. Roxy smiled back and winked, and Kate blushed and mumbled something under her breath before retreating to the relative safety of her room. Jimmy hardly noticed her go; he was too busy staring at Roxy. “So, uh, Reno, huh?” he started lamely. “How’d you end up here?”

“Oh, my mom signed me up,” she sighed. “Well, not really my mom – I never met her. I’m adopted. My parents’re in the middle of moving, and I guess they thought it’d be easier if I was outta the way until they had time to settle in.”

They chatted for awhile, laughing, two old friends and their new acquaintance. Jimmy felt his eyes constantly straying in Roxy’s direction, and pleasantly, she returned his stares warmly. Eddy seemed oblivious to the exchanged glances.

Suddenly, something clicked in Jimmy’s head, “You’re adopted? Hmm, I wonder… do you know anything about Kate’s parents?”

Roxy thought for a moment and shook her head, “No, I don’t. She said she was raised by her aunt and uncle.”

Jimmy frowned, “That’s weird. Have either of you noticed? Everyone I’ve talked to comes from some sort of broken home or strange background. I wonder if a single kid here knows their father.”

Eddy grew serious, too. “Yeah, and this whole place – this is more like a prison than a camp. Have you tried any of the doors leading out of this area? They’re locked – you need a key card to access them. And I’ve seen a few guys in real military type get-ups - body armor, guns, that kinda thing. I don’t like this one bit, man, but there doesn’t seem to be much I can do about it now.”

Jimmy nodded, “Yeah, except keep our eyes and ears open and try to figure out what’s going on. I thought about trying to find a way back outside, but I don’t know if that’d help much. Did you pay attention to the road when you came in? We’re like twenty or thirty miles from the closest town, at least. And I haven’t seen a phone anywhere in here - seems to me we’re stuck.”

Eddy and Roxy nodded soberly and exchanged nervous glances. Roxy opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a squeal of static from overhead, followed by a voice on some sort of loudspeaker system:

“Dinner will be served in the cafeteria at 18:00 hours. A strict curfew of 22:00 hours will be in place; all students should be in there rooms for the night by 22:00 hours. I’m sure you all have many questions, but for now just remain calm and wait. Breakfast will be served at 7 tomorrow, followed by a meeting where we will try to address your concerns.”

“I’ll believe that when it happens,” Jimmy muttered, drawing a giggle from Roxy. The nurse standing in the hallway – the same bulldog looking woman who had been at the front door, shot him a scathing look, but Eddy was already dragging the two of them down the hallway, excited.

“Did you hear that? Dinner in half an hour! About time; I’m starving! Lets get to the cafeteria early and scope out some seats – I wanna be first in line when they start serving grub.”

Jimmy laughed and allowed himself to be pulled along, letting his worries slip into the back of his mind, forgotten for now. He would be reminded again very soon, but for now he was able to just relax and enjoy the companionship of good friends.

Next: The morning meeting and more new friends...

Oh, by the way, I'll give a fabulous No-Prize to the first person who can guess the comic book I stole the campaign idea from (except Skade - he already guessed, and received no prize )

I had enough spare time at work to type a short update. I wanted to do more, but I've gotten stuck on an extended call and its not going to happen. I'll get the rest of this update posted in the near future, but here's the half page I had time to complete:

*****

After dinner, Jimmy wandered back to his room with Jeff and his other two roommates. Talking to the latter two, he soon confirmed one of his suspicions. Wade lived alone with his mother, and Alan had been brought up in foster care as a ward of the state. Wade’s father had been military, Navy, and had disappeared when he was very young. Alan had no memories of his natural parents. He had tried to find them but without success. Curiouser and curiouser. Jimmy dwelt on this as he practiced his forms that night, continued pondering it when Jeff produced a hidden stash and passed a joint around the room, and later fell asleep in bed, still trying to make a connection between this odd fact and his current situation.

The next morning an alarm ripped him from sleep. He stared blearily at the clock in the room. Six AM. Boy, these guys didn’t know a thing about teenagers. He hardly felt rested; he had been plagued by strange dreams that night, his head throbbed faintly, and his mouth was dry and tasted bitter and coppery. Jeff groaned and pulled the covers over his head, and Alan stumbled out of the bathroom, looking hollow-eyed and terrible. Wade didn’t stir at all. At least one of them had slept well.

Jimmy rolled out of bed and headed towards the bathroom, stopping as he passed Alan. “Hey, man, you look terrible. You alright?”

Alan grimaced, “No, I couldn’t sleep at all. Had a terrible headache. Its just now fading to where I can move without feeling like I’m gonna throw up.

“You don’t look like you feel so hot, yourself.”

“Sure don’t,” Jimmy agreed, “but nothing like that. Maybe it’s the air in this place or the food they’re serving.” Jimmy shrugged.

“Maybe,” Alan didn’t sound convinced. “Hopefully they tell us what we’re doing here after breakfast like they said they would.”

“Yeah, hopefully.” This time it was Jimmy’s turn to sound uncertain. He stepped into the bathroom and hesitated. “I wouldn’t bet on it, though,” he finished before shutting the door and turning on the shower.

Next: Breakfast and beyond...