Book 2 Introduction: The Story So Far...
Book 2 Introduction: The Story So Far…
Dan Newman, a mild-mannered office drone, is accidentally launched into adventure after mistaking an interdimensional alien spacecraft for a bathroom. He is dropped off at a space station on the outer edges of Neptune in an entirely foreign dimension, where he meets Doctor Marcus Mercury, the sole resident, who is definitely not a mad scientist nor a super villain. Mercury informs Dan that his trip between dimensions has given him fantastic new powers, and also possibly super cancer.
After a thorough medical exam, Dan discovers that his power is something similar to teleportation. He learns the history of this new dimension, in which a nuclear test gone wrong tore a hole in the sky over White Sands, New Mexico. The world was saturated with cosmic radiation, exposure to which seemed to grant people superpowers.
Society basically imploded over the next couple of years, as anarchy took over, and cosmic radiation spread outward from its point of origin. Eventually, a method was discovered to artificially direct the process, ensuring that the granted power was neither dangerous, nor disruptive to society. These ‘upgrades’ were promptly marketed, and became widespread. A small percentage of these upgrades go slightly wrong, mutating in a way that often drastically increases their effectiveness, but are otherwise stable.
Dan is a ‘natural’ who gained his power through direct exposure to cosmic radiation. His kind are monitored by the government and are made to register the details of their abilities. Society generally views naturals as dangerous and unstable, though the prejudice is not overt. Dan chooses to hide the details of his power, worried about what might happen to him if his identity as an interdimensional refugee is discovered. Doctor Mercury helps to create an identity for him, and hide the truth of his power, though he doubts it would stand significant scrutiny. He warns Dan not to get into too much trouble.
While experimenting with the limits of his teleportation, Dan teleports from Neptune’s orbit, all the way to Earth. There, Dan meets Margaret, a middle aged widow, and receptionist for the Pearson hotel, the dimensional counterpart of Dan’s apartment. The two become friends, with Dan spending his free time visiting her. He also rescues a lab mouse from Marcus’ experiments, naming her Merrill.
Marcus offers to pay Dan to act as a deliveryman, and to record him coming and going. He explains the Gap Between Worlds, the unexplored, chaotic space that Dan passed through while traveling from one dimension to the next. Marcus theorizes that the Gap has no set shape, and is the origin of conscious thought. Few people have been able to study it, as it’s incredibly difficult to even access. He believes that Dan’s power is connected to it.
Dan discovers this is entirely true, as he accidentally falls into the Gap during a robbery at the Pearson. The experience is so disorienting that he falls unconscious, and has to be rescued by Margaret. In the aftermath, he meets Gregoir Pierre-Louis, a gregarious and permanently optimistic police officer who mistakes Dan’s bumbling actions for heroism. He invites Dan to visit the precinct, and explore the legal outlets for his heroic spirit.
Dan decides that he is unsatisfied with nearly every aspect of himself, and resolves to fix things. He contacts a physical trainer in Georgia, who was recommended to him by Margaret. The woman, Abigail Summers, turns out to be Margaret’s niece, and the wealthy heiress to a major tech company. They get along well, and she sets about whipping him into shape.
They get to know each other and Dan not-so-subtly learns about the world around him. He learns about the Genius upgrade, which did exactly what it says on the tin. Thousands of people purchased the upgrade, but it was eventually discovered that the inspiration and focus it granted came at enormous cost. The user could no longer focus on anything but a single, all-encompassing passion, which eventually burnt them out like a match. Abby informs Dan that her grandfather had a genius upgrade, and that their company’s success was due to him.
They also speak about the damage that the upgrade caused, when single-minded, hyper-intelligent, perfectly-focused individuals pursued their passions to the exclusion of all else. The upgrade was banned, and purged from society. The technological breakthroughs remained, but were quickly patented and monopolized. As a result, the technological progress of certain sectors are dramatically increased from what Dan is used to seeing.
He also discovers this dimension’s obsession with following elaborate themes for their stores and restaurants, and their tendency to favor stories with trained law enforcement as heroes, rather than plucky every-mans. The individualism that defined the America he knew is somewhat usurped by a cultural reverence of authority, and a strict focus on the righteousness of the law.
There is a major villain attack on Atlanta, with a massive fireball engulfing several city blocks. Abby and Dan watch it happen on television, though the footage cuts out soon after. Abby explains that these kinds of attacks are not uncommon. He also learns about SPEAR Teams, Special Assault and Response, this dimension’s version of SWAT. They are unleashed to handle high level threats that patrol officers are not equipped for. All officers are given access to restricted upgrades, which are generally more powerful or specialized than those available to the public, and SPEAR Teams carry even stronger ones. Lethal force is their first and last resort.
(Unknown to Dan, a SPEAR Team was indeed dispatched to deal with the villain attack. It is discovered that the source of the enormous blast was an emaciated teenager, wearing what appears to be some kind of shock collar. He is surrounded by terrorists, whose words imply they are going to unleash another blast. The boy is killed in the ensuing gunfight.)
Dan is horrified by pretty much all of this. He wishes to help the city recover, and is informed that untrained volunteers are turned away. As part of his self-improvement plan, he resolves to acquire a disaster relief license. He feels that this is a good way to make a positive impact in the world.
Marcus is not as keen on the idea. He explains that crisis volunteers are almost always traumatized by what they see, and that it usually breaks them. Dan insists, and the doctor agrees to help train him. Marcus utilizes a VR device to drop Dan into a simulated Atlanta. There, he shows him the aftermath of villain attacks, as well as the dangers. Dan survives the test, and remains firm in his resolve.
Marcus begins to teach Dan how to fight. He discovers that the scientist, who is nearing a full century of life, can throw him around like a ragdoll. He learns various subjects, and is slowly caught up on the differences between his society and this new one. Eventually, Marcus orders him to leave the station for a time, as he has an experiment to conduct.
He is invited to Abby’s family reunion, where he meets Anastasia Summers, Abby’s grandmother. The matriarch is an unquestionably powerful and oppressive individual, but seems to at least tolerate Dan’s existence. Dan also learns that her husband, Stanley Summers, was a close friend of Marcus Mercury.
(Unknown to Dan, Stanley Summers had recruited his former teacher, Marcus Mercury, as part of a government funded program to study cosmic radiation. This program directly lead to the invention of upgrades, and later, the genius upgrade.)
(In the present, after sending Dan away, Marcus begins to use his own natural power. He can manipulate his own biology, and utilizes memorized brain scans of Stanley Summers at the height of his genius and insanity, to mimic the upgrade for brief periods of time. The process is incredibly dangerous, and requires him to meditate on old memories to set himself the appropriate goals.)
Dan returns to the station, to find Marcus unconscious, and a stable window into the gap floating in the middle of his lab. The old man wakes up and explains that this was exactly what he was attempting to accomplish. Dan expresses his concern and discomfort. He believes the Gap is leaking, as he recognizes several auditory and visual cues from his time there. Marcus admits it might be possible, but is unwilling to turn back
He explains to Dan that he believes the Gap to be the source of powers. He thinks every person is tied to it, and that cosmic radiation opens that link. He believes by studying the Gap, he can fix his old mistakes, though what those are go unmentioned.
Dan is not comfortable with the risks that Marcus is taking, and the two agree to part ways. Dan moves into the Pearson, taking Merrill the mouse with him. He decides that the secret of his arrival is too much to deal with alone and, after realizing that she is his best friend in this dimension, he decides to tell Abby.
She takes the news well, and presses Dan to improve on his power training. He begins to visualize his power as a veil of liquid covering his body that he is able to freely manipulate. He slowly accepts that it is a part of him, and ventures into the Gap of his own accord. He finally experiences the empty space as something other than horrifying, trusting in his power to keep him safe. He also confirms that time in the Gap does not flow at the same rate as in reality. He can stay in there for hours, without a moment passing. Abby dubs it t-space (teleportation space), given that the Gap Between Worlds is a mouthful.
Dan teleports himself to the Pearson as part of power testing, and runs into Gregoir Pierre-Louise. The cops sheer force of personality manages to rope Dan into a visit to the local police precinct, where he encounters a group of hopeful cadets, being led on a tour. He joins in, and is immediately lambasted by one of them, Connor Graham, for his general lack of respect and decorum. Gregoir immediately partners the two of them together with him for a ride-along as a method to resolve their differences.
The trio respond to a standard call which immediately goes wrong. The three encounter an unknown man and are exposed to a banned upgrade that roughly mimics the effect of rohypnol, making them all more suggestable. Dan follows an order to ‘leave’ literally, dropping into t-space. The jump between dimensions appears to break the upgrade’s effect, and Dan immediately attempts to call for help from the police cruiser. Before he can do so, he encounters another man in the middle of strapping something to the bottom of the car. The two fight, with Dan winning, but in the aftermath Connor and Gregoir are nowhere to be found.
Dan is brought back to the police station, where it is revealed to him that the assailants planned to abduct an officer in order to try and replicate their restricted upgrades. Encountering Gregoir, who was the only natural officer in the city, was entirely accidental. They had intended for Dan and his companions to forget the meeting entirely, and go about their day. The men had strapped a bomb and tracker to the police car, and planned to detonate it as a distraction, once it had reentered the precinct.
He is thanked by Kaneda Ito, Gregoir’s mentor and superior officer. Ito also suggests that Dan join an extracurricular class at the police academy, as they offer classes on crisis response. He eventually agrees, and signs up for a class.
(Elsewhere, Gregoir wakes up restrained by a mad scientist who explains that his kidnapping was a happy accident. He is told that Connor will be ransomed, and Gregoir himself experimented on. Gregoir immediately breaks out of his restraints and rescues Connor, though the villain’s fate is unknown.)
Dan attends his first class, and meets his fellow students. Fred Sawyer, an aspiring officer, and Freya Valentine, Connor’s girlfriend/fiancée, and Gregoir himself. Gregoir has been ordered to attend remedial classes at the Academy as punishment for giving a bombastic and unauthorized interview about his time in captivity. Their teacher is Michael Tawny, a former private investigator, turned cop.
Eventually, the class is taken on a field trip outside the city. There, they engage in a mock search and rescue, while being monitored by Matilda, an upgrade analyst. Dan worries that she will see through the lie that is his power, and for good reason. The experienced woman almost immediately picks up that Dan does not have the upgrade he claims to have.
While in the forest, Dan comes across a strange collar, embedded in a tree. The forest had once been a thriving tourist spot, but an unnatural fire had burnt most of it to the ground years ago. The collar that Dan found radiated heat, and looked like it had been burnt to a crisp.
After the exercise is over, Dan is confronted by Matilda, but he manages to buy himself some time. He also speaks to Freya, telling her to pass his condolences to Connor.
Connor, insulted by Dan’s kind words, tracks him down the next day. The two banter with each other, and spar. Dan discovers that six months of training does not beat two decades of it, unless his power comes into play. Connor thrashes him, with much smugness.
The two slowly bond between beating each other senseless. Connor recounts his kidnapping, and rescue by Gregoir. He recounts that Gregoir had been collared, and that it was supposed to cause unimaginable pain. His description reminds Dan of the collar he found in the forest. The two part ways amicably, and decide to make sparring a regular thing.
Dan consults Abby about the collar he found. She mentions that the idea seemed similar to something that was employed in the military, though that was much less brutal. Naturals with highly destructive powers were given tiny implants that shocked them when their power exceeded certain safety thresholds.
Marcus calls Dan back to the station. He discovers that the man has been rejuvenated, appearing more like a hale sixty year old than a wizened centennial. He reveals what he has learned about the Gap and its connection to powers. He claims that powers conform to a person’s ideas and expectations, which explains why naturals experience power growth. He tells Dan that the more firm his conceptualization of his power is, the stronger it will become.
He also explains that the Gap itself is constantly changing, unable to hold a stable form unless a conscious mind imposes one. It changes itself according to a person’s expectations. He theorizes that powers themselves work this way, and that upgrades function in predictable patterns because they are expected to. All people are connected to the gap through thought. Enough of the collective believes in the stability of upgrades, to keep them stable and functional.
The downside to all of this is that direct exposure to the Gap drives one slowly insane, and Marcus was forced to continuously erase his own memories in order to maintain sanity during his research. It’s unknown as to why Dan is shielded from this effect, but he theorizes that Dan’s power shields him from the harmful effects of the Gap.
Dan brings the collar to Marcus, who examines it. He determines that it is a device to force power growth, using the desperation caused by agony to force more power than one is normally capable of. He tells Dan that many organizations exist that would be interested in such a device, including one that he once was a part of.
He admits his involvement in creating genius upgrades, arguing that he only wanted to help humanity. He admits that their attempt was flawed, but refuses to disavow the motive.
He gives Dan a monitoring device, and asks him to keep it on himself. The device is meant to record his time in the Gap, in the hopes that Marcus can develop a shield against the insanity that it causes. He also advises Dan give Anastasia the collar.
Dan decides to buy a house. He enlists Abby’s help to do so. He also encounter Connor, who encourages Dan to date Abby once he learns about Dan’s feelings for her, and her own prestigious background. Dan takes Abby on a date and they officially become a couple.
Dan shops around for houses, eventually settling on a home once owned by a vigilante. The house has been on sale for some time, as it is seen as taboo and bad luck. Dan buys it anyway.
Matilda finally loses her patience and demands a meeting with Dan. There, she extorts him in order to study his power. Abby advises him to go along with it while she has her grandmother look into Matilda’s background for counter-blackmail material.
Matilda observes that Dan’s power seems to take its own initiative in how it obeys his will. She also observes that he is able to avoid obstacles that he shouldn’t know are there. She theorizes that he doesn’t have complete control over his ability, and that it will not always function as he wishes.
Dan flatly denies it, trusting his power completely, as he believes it to be a part of himself.
Matilda lambasts his arrogance, and he realizes that she was attempting to stir his fear in order to tie herself closer to him. She wished for him to rely on her expertise in order to properly master his power, assuming that he would fear it like most natives of Dimension A.
Dan decides to play into her ideas, acting meek and afraid of his own power, but her testing raises questions of his own. He ventures into the Gap and meditates on his power. He uncovers something connected to himself and to his veil, a being of alien power and intentions, looking down upon him.
He drinks rather heavily after this revelation.
Dan resolves to ignore this revelation and focuses instead on his new home. He refurbishes it, and Abby begins to stay with him. While practicing with his veil, he uncovers a hidden room beneath the house. Abby convinces him not to blindly dive into it. They call Gregoir, who immediately blindly dives into it.
Gregoir tears a path through dozens of traps, eventually declaring the secret room to be cleared and safe, though Dan discovers yet another secret partition that he keeps to himself. He explores this hidden area, carefully removing traps until he deems it safe. Within, he discovers that Captain Quantum, the vigilante who had once owned the house, had been a member of the People.
The People were once a vigilante group recruited by Stanley Summers, but eventually splintered away and became radicalized. Abby explains that they were terrorists who had repeatedly targeted her family in the past. She insists that they tell Anastasia Summers.
Anastasia, as it turns out, had been spying on her granddaughter. She calls Daniel before they can make a decision, and arrives in town shortly after. She clears the basement of traps, though warns that the People used to send out distress signals when their defenses were breached. She has no way to discover if one had been sent, though her presence would dissuade any immediate retaliation.
She also explains that the People work in cells, and were extremely hard to track down. They had a Natural capable of hiding things in pocket dimensions, making it nearly impossible to gleam information from old hideouts. Whenever bases were abandoned, everything incriminating would be shunted out of reality.
Dan realizes that he might be able to breach these pocket dimensions, but keeps it to himself.
Anastasia confronts Dan about his identity. He admits his origins, but denies that he is working against her for Marcus. She acknowledges that he would be a poor spy, and then unveils what she has learned about Matilda. The upgrade analyst has apparently made contact with the same mad scientist that had kidnapped Connor and Gregoir.
The mad scientist’s name was Andros Bartholomew, and he is a known associate of the People. Anastasia reveals that Matilda is working with Andros in order to have Dan kidnapped and experimented on, but is delaying the process in order to study his power. She orders Dan to go along with it, in order to trap the man, and offers to rescue him once he’s been captured. Dan agrees, but quickly realizes that she had used her power to subtly manipulate him during the conversation.
He seeks help from Marcus, but finds the space station abandoned, with several systems in the process of shutting down. He leaves in fear and confusion.
Dan decides to consult Connor and Freya about what he should do with the information Anastasia left him with. He also decides he needs leverage on Anastasia, and figures out how to breach the People’s cache of information. He finds important documents regarding the People’s activities, and schemes to sell them to Anastasia in return for her assistance in securing his identity, and a promise to leave him be. He also decides to share the information with Connor and Freya.
They talk about what should be done. Connor eventually recommends that Dan drops the photo of Matilda meeting with Andros off at the FBI’s field office, with Freya agreeing. Dan also shares what he found in the Gap, though tells them that Anastasia gave it to him. They decide that this too should be handed over.
(Unbeknownst to Dan, Connor has been reconsidering his life choices. After his kidnapping, he takes on Gregoir as a role model, deciding that he’d rather be a guardian of the people than be a member of a SPEAR Team. He struggles to decide on an upgrade, realizing that the one he had planned to take was not as effective as he wanted it to be. He decides to ask Dan for advice.)
The two men spar, but Connor incarnates a power in the middle of the fight, bringing things to a halt. His uncle, SPEAR Team leader Cornelius Graham, comes when called, and determines that Connor must have been dosed with cosmic radiation during his kidnapping. Connor is initially despondent, given the societal taboo, but Dan and Abby encourage him. They leave, with Connor promising to master his new power.
Dan later calls Anastasia, conveying his offer. She agrees to shield him and stop interfering in his life in exchange for help opening the People’s caches whenever she finds them. She also reveals that the documents he passed to the FBI were heavily contaminated with cosmic radiation, proving that Dan was the source of Connor’s sudden powers.
Dan attends the final for his crisis response class, in which they actually respond to a crisis. A fire breaks out in the city, and Dan helps find and free several trapped civilians. An explosion concusses him, and he falls unconscious while attempting to help a paramedic stabilize a victim.
He wakes up in an unfamiliar place, and comes face to face with Andros Bartholomew. The mad scientist informs Dan that he has implanted a device that will kill Dan if he leaves a certain range. He monologues for a time about the various things he will do, and Dan manages to teleport the device out of his body. They fight, and Dan grievously injures the man.
He calls Cornelius Graham, who tracks him down via the GPS on his phone. Connor’s uncle helps him cover up the kidnapping and assault, and gives his thanks to Daniel for bringing the man to justice. Dan returns home safely.
Dan finally feels ready to confront the thing living in t-space. Abby points out that the being might actually be common, that every power might have something similar, and that he shouldn’t necessarily be afraid of it.
Dan eventually determines that the creatures is a sort of proto-sapience, a being that only exists in the Gap, but has no real will of its own. He believes that it is the result of the Gap being the origin of consciousness, that this is some kind of primitive form that connected to his thoughts and feelings. He realizes that it is connected to his veil, and he takes control of it. He dubs it his navigator, as it is the ‘mind’ of his power.
Dan eventually reunites with his friends, once Connor gets the hang of his new power. They throw a party, toasting to their futures.