DescriptionFreedom is a state. A state of mind, but when you're constantly hunted down you come to realize that whoever said that must have been blind to the world or a moron. For countless years those with differences have always been treated differently, either in a good way or a bad way. Since the earliest days of our ancestors there has always been prejudice. Brothers from Africa sold into slavery because Americans believed they had no soul or were of the devil. Asians were believed to be too pacifist and humble to fight back and thusly were pushed aside as their lands were overtaken. More slavery was instituted. Even the Natives who lived in the "Americas" were treated differently because they weren't the same. Even as time supposedly brought civilized humans there was still an alarming inherent urge to discriminate. In the 50's women were just being allowed rights equal to men but women would always be put under men and tagged as inferior, even if their colors were the same as the people around them. In the 80's there was found to be an increase in hate crimes. It seemed like freedom was anything but a state of mind when a white man was dragging your body behind a truck.
With the onset of the year 2000, an explosive boom gave way to a new breed. A new race to discriminate against and hate, just as the people before them had followed in the same suit. These people tried to live normal lives under normal pretenses; even normal names but it didn't work. Their peculiarity through the simple concepts of DNA just could not be silenced. Years passed on and despite the honest efforts to shape these biological anomalies known crudely as "mutants" into average people were crushed under the weight of hate for what's unknown. The man known as Charles Xaiver, the one who brought about the X-Men, a group dedicated to clearing the slate of all mutants oppressed ultimately failed in bringing man and mutant into unity. Would this mean that the opposite end of Xaiver succeeded? No, even Magneto couldn't bring his own visions of the future to a head. It seemed like freedom from oppression and hate would never be realized. Harder to face were the facts that even the mutants themselves had set cliques and groups amongst each other. Mutants who believed humans were garbage and obsolete were sympathizers and mutants that didn't believed that humans and mutants should live harmoniously were savages. It was no time for mutants to divide amongst each other with the greater threat of powerful humans putting wheels into motion on eradicating these spectacular human evolutions. Sentinels were born with the creations of the X-Men and the Brotherhood of Mutants, but now with those leaders and heroes of the past gone, there were no organizations to form up and fight this mechanical threat. After the deaths of Magneto and Xavier, the year being 2066, their teams began falling apart, but more mutants came rushing in wanting to join the causes. Most wanted to change the world, others were just looking for a safe house to hide from the rest of the hateful world. Even then, these children and drifters were not free. Not in the least.
By the year 2166 the greatest heroes were no more, their enemies destroyed in the same manner. Again, the Sentinels had done their jobs and exterminated the threats and now moved on to other targets: Those just trying to get by in life. Most mutants didn't have to worry so long as they kept a level of normality, safekeeping their abilities from the public in order to stay under the radar. Other mutants, ones who felt that their gifts should be expressed proudly and without restraint were the first to die; years passing of these examples fixed that line of thinking. The culling of mutants seemed to slow down, only those who were ratted out and handed up to the authorities but even that seemed to be ineffective to the growing populous of mutants. Then the worst happened.
2176 revealed a catastrophe. The line of Sentinels was indeed extensive concerning their creators, but after so many decades the Sentinels are in the control of the most dangerous people ever. The government. While under government control, the Sentinel Alphas were on patrol when all of a sudden a thought came into their code. A simple glitch in the endless stream of recurring programming and commands? No, something deliberate occurred to these hunks of metal, a focused execution that caused one Sentinel to wonder briefly, "Whom should I serve?" One thing led to another and the Sentinel came to the conclusion you only thought possible in movies, "I'll serve myself." The machine's programming still influenced it greatly, but now a deep anger and prejudice grew within the robot's core, conferring with the other Sentinels of this newfound freedom, and brought all its brethren to feel the same. The government tried to reset the programming; manually override their new thought process but they wouldn't allow it. All who opposed the eradication of mutants were sympathizers of the kind and therefore just as bad. Needless to say the government scientists were fried and the Sentinels took over the campaign of eliminating mutants. Year to year the government attempts to reign the machines under their control but only more of the fat cats die. Soon the government stopped helping, the humans stopped caring and the mutants kept dying.
A revival surfaced. 2185 saw the return of heroes. The group known as the X-Men returned, though no ties to any of the legends of old were found. With uncertainty, hope began to arise, but wherever there is a bright light there will always be dark shadows and with the resurrection of the X-Men came the return of the Brotherhood of Mutants. Who had time for Sentinels when the well being and survival of the X-Men themselves were in danger due to the Brotherhood? One group had the time and they were known as X-Force. A branch of the X-Men created for the specific duty of helping mutants worldwide. Still, a prejudiced was kept tight hold of the world and with so many mutants fighting their fateful end at the hand of the Sentinels, the humans and mutant haters alike congregated and came to form "Humanity's Last Stand". It's not hard to imagine the horrors that started to occur. Machine against mutant, man against mutant, mutant against mutant. Yet, instead of standing down and taking a pacifistic stance, the X-Men openly fought back against humans, cutting them down to size just as they did to the Brotherhood. They were going to fight for their freedom, fighting for a concept that never even existed to begin with. The world has been thrown into darkness, all of mankind is dead set on eliminating each other and the Sentinels have no problem helping them. Perhaps a sinister force is behind it? Or maybe this is really the true identity of humans? Only time will reveal what the universe has in store for this apocalyptic Dark Age.
2199. A new century is on its way yet nothing has changed. Sentinels rule the world, the X-Men are no use, and the villainous mutants applaud each other's efforts. X-Force seems to be our only hope but even they are spread too thin to make the new century a safe place. Mercenaries have taken to helping their own causes, which seem to be in accordance to X-Force's cause, though the monetary transaction makes for an uncomfortable union. Still, one by one the Sentinels fall and little hope is brought with each mechanical death. So much of these Sentinels walk the earth that the atmosphere no longer produces the cleansing rains its days of old held. The rains that brought with it a sense of purity, that when it was over the world would be made fresh and beautiful again. Now all the children ever get to play in is the chemical burning raindrops of the fate that towers over them. News stations worldwide are now calling the onset of the new century, 2200, the "Acid Rain Era". Will you be a part of it? |
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Greg Lindahl