Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Lois & Clark Fanfic Comments: Veritas 38

Well, what do you think?

Delightful. Nicely played. Well done.
Nice reasoning. This Clark is getting trained how to be the most effective Superman he can be. Well spoken. I'm liking your Lois more and more.

Nice chapter, Shayne. I love the way you brought us back to the pepper spray from the beginning of the story. Way to go, Lois! Hey, agent Randall has been asking for it since the beginning, too.

Loved it that Lois didn't back down against Agent White, either. It's not everyone that can stick up for themselves and their beliefs against that kind of authority and power. Embarrassed when their actions are exposed as shameful - sort of like acting repentant only when caught in the sin. Interesting that Agent White and the government expect Lois to control Superman, like he's her creation or her puppet.

Oh, the scenes of the earthquake are so sad. I'm glad that Clark is able to find strength from the people around him. That he isn't only leaning on Lois to learn how to be a hero is a good thing. It'll make him stronger when he goes back home to face his own people (and Lana).

Brenda

Shayne, you've done a great job of portraying the situation in China and the people involved. Everyone put asides other issues to focus on what's important: saving lives. Clark shows not just his strength but his strength of character.

And on the other hand we have...
Once again, no good deed goes unpunished. It seems politics trumps people's lives in certain circles. This made me think of the response to Hurricane Katrina.
Lois shows what she's made of, too.

I would love to hear some of what the news media — and the man on the street — are saying about Clark. It's a good thing he did the interview before the China situation arose. He showed people what makes him tick, and they'll understand why he's doing what he's doing.
I hope Mother Nature gives Clark a break soon... Typhoons, tornados, earthquakes: he needs some rest.

Oh Shayne, you've once again made my day by posting a chapter!

He's got the Chinese on board. They recognize that by his actions, Clark is the real Superman. Also, it goes to show that Superman is world-wide. Maybe he was raised in America, but he helps the Earth. All of it.

You know, that's one of the sad bits of this story. Back in the day, America was looked up to, and admired, by the world. We were the shining city on a hill. Now, our reputation is tarnished, our ideals in tatters. This story shows clearly what America has sunk to. (Sorry for ranting. I'm passionate about this.)

LOL! I always get a kick out of people's reactions when they see the real Superman for the first time.


Yay! The biggest hurdle overcome. The story is out, the cat can't be put back in the bag. I'm only sorry that our own government is being such a bunch of weenies about it. They're acting like spoiled kids. I'm glad to see Clark's strategy is working.

Wow, is that condescending. Firstly, Clark is nobody's "boy". In fact, that term is extremely derogatory in some circles.

Secondly, is Agent White implying that Lois and he had some sort of deal? She keeps "her boy under control" and he does - what?

If there is some implied deal, Lois isn't getting much out of it. She got out of federal custody only because Susan performed lawyer magic. I guess the unfreezing of the bank accounts is a first step. (I'll grudgingly admit that. But government agents have still caused Lois some major hassle.)

So all the advantage of the deal (if one exists) has been on Agent White's side, so far. Now the worm is turning and Agent White doesn't like it. Glad to see that Lois hasn't fallen for unspoken threats and influence and not-so-subtle pressure that Agent White has been purveying.

I'm really glad to see Agent Randal get his comeuppance. (I can't help but wonder who or what his political connections are.... please don't answer that as the speculation is more fun than the reality.)

Go, Shayne & Lois, tell it like it is!

The scary thing is the truth of this statement: We get the government we deserve.

This is so moving. With only a few words, you've created a poignant drama. You've also made Colonel Kwan come alive. If he has faced that sort of decision before, what were the circumstances surrounding it? Was it large-scale, like Clark is facing now, or was it just leaving one man to die while other troops escaped? I guess we'll never know.


He is Superman. You've chronicled his growth from Clark Kent, hider in the shadows, to Superman, saver of lives, overt user of his Kryptonian powers, helper of millions.

Now to see Lois become the Lois we know and love...she's already there, professionally. But can she become the one who loves Clark, the half of the pair who are destined to be together? You've already touched on that in the last chapter. They just need some time together now.

It's great to see Superman using his powers all over the world. Although it's been 30+ chapters for us, it's been, what? a week or so in story time? Things are happening right and left. The only thing I'm worried about is that Clark has been so extremely busy. Will he be drained when the times comes to speak with our government? And will Lois ever get her sleep? She needs to be at full throttle.

I hope that the politicos don't kidnap Lois and force Clark to use extreme measures to break her out - it would be hard to negotiate then. Unfortunately, with the rigidity and fear shown by members of our government, I can easily see this situation escalating to a mutual unhappy ending. Pray that cooler heads prevail.

Already, Clark's strategy is eliciting responses from other governments (e.g., the Chinese and their offer of asylum). Soon our government will be forced to act in some public manner.

Please, Shayne, continue with your wonderful story. I look forward (eagerly!) to every chapter, and hope that there are many more chapters to come. Please post more soon.

Great chapter!

I don´t know how high up Randal´s political connections are, but if he keeps this kind of work on, they will not save him from landing behind a desk somewhere in a arctic village! (I hope so...)

Oh yes, pressure - but on whom? Now the media can quote Clark directly, and I don´t think Lois gave them anything which could be misunderstood. The media and the government can´t pin anything evil on him. Taking orders from an Chinese army officer? In a rescuing situation? Oh, come on, Agent White! Clark is no US official or soldier, he is Superman! Clark may be an US citizen, but Superman is a world citizen with US heritage. He is always neutral and doesn´t take sides, so he can work everywhere and there are no reservations toward him. Does the US government really think they can lay some claim on him? Based on what? Blackmailing him regarding the passengers? This will sound nice on TV! And Clark will talk on TV about it, no way he is going to sign a nondisclosure agreement!
And by the way: I hope, in the interview Clark also talks about the reasons why he has to go back to his universe. Preventing 9/11 in his world will be understood everywhere!

It seems I got the name of the city wrong in my last review. You are right, it was Beichuan. And my impressions were the same as yours - Nagasaki, absolutely horrible.

This is heartbreaking! Great work, Shayne!

No shiny comic book Superman, but a very real character with very real feelings and fears!

He is learning quickly. And more and more growing into the suit!

And how long can Clark keep going without sleep? Even he has to sleep sometimes. And where will Agent White take Lois? He has to know by now that Susan will get her out in no time. Perhaps it´s about negotiations now? With whom? It´s really getting political, and this will be very interesting to watch!

Next chapter? *looks hopefully in Shayne´s direction*

Shayne, wonderful story. I've been following it closely, because of it's unique angle and your excellent writing. Also, this story is so unpredictable. Some others I can guess where they are going and am interested in the way the author will get there. This one, I want to see how you get wherever you're going and learn your destination as well.

Cornelia, ACLU stands for American Civil Liberties Union, and its a Union of Lawyers that deal specifically with cases dealing in civil rights, especially where they believe citizens' rights have been infringed.

I have been insanely busy, and I still am, so I'm late to the party. But this was another wonderful part. Since I feel I have so little time, I won't quote much, but I have read through the other responses and I heartily agree with everything that has been said.

For myself, I want to point out two things. First, that it is amazing how you make us be with Clark when he performs his super stuff. You make us understand his decisions and see how he actually does what he does - I loved how he built that road. And you make us feel his despair, and then, you make us feel his determination once again. I loved this:

Sorry about the long quote, but it is brilliantly, exquisitely written. One sentence leads compellingly to the other, and when you are done you have transformed Clark from a horrified newbie who just knows that people are going to die, into a magnificent hero who knows that he is going to have to save as many people as he possibly can.

But for me, who grew up during the height of the Cold War, this quote is the most amazing one, the one I can't stop thinking about:

China has offered Clark asylum!!! And they have offered asylum for all the passengers in the plane!

I grew up with pictures like this one, of an East German soldier jumping over barbed wire to the freedom in West Germany:

[img]http://www.cs.utah.edu/~hatch/images/europe/berlin.guard[/img]

The idea of American people being given asylum in China is, well, mindboggling to me. (Of course the passengers were not given asylum, only offered asylum, and I can't imagine that they would accept it.) Still, if this entire chain of events had really happened here and now, in this world, I can imagine that the passengers might be better off in China than in the United States. In China they would probably be released immediately and maybe offered jobs that required a good knowledge of English. For all of that, they would of course have felt extremely lost and out of place.

The interesting thing is that this could never have happened in the show. The way I remember the 1990s, there is no way whatsoever that a planeload of ordinary Americans could ever have been treated like they have been treated in this story. I don't think that the mysterious nature of the arrival of the plane would have been kept such a secret. And while I don't doubt that the 1990s American authorities would have detained the passengers for a while, I also believe that they would quickly have provided the passengers with lawyers and explained the situation to them. And there is no way that any of those passengers would even have considered going to China to be given asylum there!

What happened? Why is the United States of today so different from the United States of the 1990s? Silly question. 9/11 happened, that's what. (And maybe the Bush administration. I still wonder if things might not have been very different if Al Gore had been President in 2001 instead of Bush.)

In 2002 or 2003, I read a column by someone who speculated that the whole 9/11 thing might blow over, that it might soon be as forgotten as some sort of Spanish attack on American warships that happened in the late 1800s. That attack apparently made the American public outraged, but it was relatively soon forgotten, and it certainly hasn't poisoned the U.S. relationship with Spain in the long run.

I remember that when I read that column, I scoffed. 9/11 would be forgotten? Come on! And maybe Santa Claus exists, too! And after I read this part of your story, Shayne, I remembered that column again, and I nodded in satisfaction. 9/11 would be forgotten? Hah!

But then I thought about it a little more, and I realized that - yes, 9/11 has been forgotten. Sort of. At least when I check out American newspapers on the internet, they so rarely mention 9/11. And here in Sweden 9/11 has been forgotten for real, at least among some people. In less than two months I will get a new class of 16-year-old students. These kids were nine years old when the towers fell, and if they are anything like the students I teach most of the time, then most of them will take little or no interest in politics. If I ask them what happened on 9/11, many, and possibly most of them, will look blank. If I show them footage of the falling towers, more of them will remember. But still there will probably be some who think I'm showing them a scene from a movie.

So 9/11 has been sort of forgotten, but the world has been profoundly changed because of it. We live in a totally different world than we used to, but many people don't really remember how it got that way, or what the world used to be like before.

The biggest change is what has happened to America. The difference between the 1990s and today is the level of fear permeating the American society. Fear is an ugly thing. I think it may have been Winston Churchill who said, "We have nothing to fear but fear itself.". Well, I think Churchill was wrong about that, because there are other things to fear, too. But Churchill was at least partly right, because fear is a particularly ugly emotion. It dehumanizes us. It takes away our ability to identify with others and feel sympathy for others. Protecting ourselves is all that matters. The world shrinks around us, and all we can see is what is threatening us. I think Agent Randal was ridden by fear when he tried to kill Lois. I also think that Agent White was ridden by fear when he lashed out at Lois for not controlling Clark. And I think that their superiors are ridden by fear when they are ready to protect Agents Randal and White, even though one of them tried to kill Lois and the other one put most of the blame for what had happened on Lois.

I also think that the Chinese authorities in your story are not really scared of Clark. They believe in what the Superman suit stands for, and they can see that Clark is living up to the promise of the suit. They believe in him, so they want to keep him. And I think it is true that people in China today are generally not as scared as people in the United states are these days.

Is there a way back to the time when America was not so scared? I think many people all over the world would be happy to see that happen.

This is an incredibly thought-provoking story, Shayne.

Ann

I was so glad Randal got sprayed Agent White's comments reflect how simple actions get a totally skewed political interpretation.

Great use of the pepper spray. And the poor American government getting freaked out by a helping Superman And the serious stuff was well played, too.

Looking forward to part 39, Michael

Ann wrote:
You're probably right, Ann. We probably would have suffered more terrorist attacks in the months following 9/11 had Al Gore been president at the time.

Shayne, this is indeed a marvelous story. I love where you're going with this. I still want to see Pilar eat some crow in front of Lois, but I can wait. What I'm really ready to see is what Lois will decide when Clark tries to return the plane and its passengers to his world.

As far as how "paranoid" and "horrible" the government is being perceived in this story, I ask once again - what would you do differently? Would you release a plane full of people who don't exist into society? Would you blindly accept their assurances that they're perfectly innocent when there's no way some of them could even be alive, much less be here in the first place? Would you disregard the safety of the entire country for the sake of a two hundred impossible people?

I doubt it. Oh, it's easy to criticize from our comfortable computer chairs and rant about how terrible the political situation is today in America, but hysterical denunciations do no one any good. I don't know what Shayne's political affiliations might be and I don't care. What I do care about is this marvelous story being told, and I'd much rather hear about the readers' reactions to the story than political posturing.

A couple of years ago, I read a comment by an Australian blogger that put forth the opinion that the American Civil War (1861-1865) wasn't over slavery because the earliest document he could find addressing slavery was Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, issued in January 1863. The guy was so far out of touch with US history that I didn't bother to correct him. I bring it up now only because some of the reactions to this story are even less informed than this guy's opinion was.

Please don't think that I believe that political opinions should be banned from this board. I don't believe that. And please don't believe that I think that anyone who disagrees with me is a moron. I certainly don't believe that. What I do believe is this: if you have an opinion, you should be able to support it with facts. If you can't support your opinion with facts, do some research to gather facts to support your opinion. And if you do this, you will occasionally (as I have done in the recent past) change your opinion.

One opinion I find constant is that this is a terrific story. I'm still with you, Shayne! Keep up the great work!

On March 11, 2004, four separate but coordinated attacks were carried out by an Al Queda-inspired cell in Spain, killing 191 people on commuter trains in Madrid and wounding another 1,755.



What was Spain's reaction? A majority of the Spanish people blamed their right-wing government and voted for a left-wing government instead. The new government took home Spain's troops from Iraq. Otherwise, not much happened. There are no excessive security controls at Spanish airports. Tourists are welcome. People don't ask about your fingerprints or political affiliations or miniature Swiss Army knives.

Immigrants are welcome, too. Spain has been very generous when it comes to accepting refugees and illegal immigrants from Africa. And Spain has nothing that even remotely resembles Guantanamo, and also nothing that even remotely resembles the Patriot Act. Even so, Spain, like the United States, has not been the victim of more terrorist attacks.

When I grew up in the sixties, I knew where in the world you would find excessive security controls at the borders and secret prisons where nameless things might be going on. That was in the Communist countries. I didn't know why that was so, and the only answer I got when I asked was that the Communists were evil. And maybe they were, too, but when I look back, my chief impression is that they were scared. They felt inferior, and they feared being attacked or taken over by the West. (And the satellite states were not only scared of the West, of course, but they were every bit as scared of the Soviet Union.) So they clamped down so hard on their own countries and their own people to make sure that they were in control of things as much as possible. And they most certainly didn't give strangers the benefit of the doubt, either. They did not dare to trust.

I'm not saying that the United States is like the Communist countries in the sixties. Obviously the differences are enormous. But for all of that, I would never have guessed that I would see as many similarities between the European Communist countries of the sixties and the United States of the early twenty-first century as I see today. And the biggest similarity is the level of fear permeating these societies.

Sorry for going off topic and stealing your thread, Shayne.

Ann

Dude! Still reading, still loving, still want more!

This chapter really humanized the Chinese for me. I mean, yeah, we all know that everyone is people and there's no "us"/"them" really, but there's knowing and then there's seeing. A big hug to you for putting human faces on big, scary Red China, and especially the PLA.

See, this is exactly what I was talking about. This is an assertion which has no supporting facts and is therefore suspect. Besides, I did not state that the Civil War was about slavery. I merely pointed out that someone with a Web platform came to a very uninformed conclusion and made a big deal of it. Ann's analysis, while incomplete, is much better because she pulls in some facts and draws conclusions from them.

Of course Spain hasn't suffered any more attacks, Ann. You don't attack an opponent who's already surrendered.

Back to the subject at hand. Mary made an excellent point about humanizing the people Superman is helping. You've done that with the food shipments to the refugees, with the tornado victims in Kansas, and now the earthquake victims in China. Superman's mission to help people transcends political differences and artificial national boundaries, which is something Agent White has yet to realize.

The Chinese government's offer of asylum for Superman and the passengers is a political ploy intended to embarrass the US government, and as such can't be taken at face value. They do not have the welfare of the individuals in mind. The L&C universe, as portrayed in the TV show, was quite naive about such things for the most part. Superman, by being concerned for and focused on the individual or individuals needing help, makes his help personal and more meaningful. It's significant that in the 50's TV series with George Reeves Superman stood for "truth, justice, and the American way" with a 48-star flag waving in the background in the title sequence, while L&C's Superman stands for "truth and justice."

I agree that Superman shouldn't belong to any single political entity, because if he did, he might be perceived (or used) as a weapon for that political entity. I really like how he's helping all across the globe, Shayne, and that he's not checking fingerprints or political party affiliations. He's presenting the unsullied hero to the world, and that's going to help him so very much in his quest to take the plane and the passengers home.

Wow, Terry. You seriously mean that Spain has surrendered to Al Queda?

All I can say is that if that is true, hey, then it's not so bad to be ruled by Al Queda. Spain is a very nice country, if you ask me.



Al Queda country.

Ann

Sorry to steal the thread away from decent feedback, Shayne. I cannot agree that all wars are based on economics. The truth is that all wars are based on something that the warrior and/or the government felt passionate about. While it is true that greed is a strong motivator, it sells humanity very short to say that it is the only thing that mankind feels passionate about. The Japanese would have said that WWII was about honor; to them it certainly wasn't about land or money.


Elisabeth

Considering that the Pacific War started out of Japanese aggression in China and it's colonizing ventures and escalated out of serious economic pressure from Western powers, I'd hazard that it was at bottom about land and money as well--even to them (as well as for the Western powers who felt threatened by the Japanese army near their piece of the pie).

Sorry about that Shayne. This is a really interesting fic though! I love the diversity and the respect in your portrayals. It's so refreshing. I'm aware I haven't been the most constant of readers, my apologies.
alcyone