Chaos Principle (IC)

[Supercape]

"Yes yes, its fine" smiled Supercape. The boy seemed safe enough in spirit too, from what he could tell. Part of him toyed with the idea of doing a psychological profile on him (he was no expert but he knew a fair amount), but that would probably be intrusive.

"Right then, last but not least...range! how far can you go? and how far have you been? and is there any corresponding reduction in mass or accuracy at greater distances... and..."

"Sorry, one step at a time! Oh, but also, how are you in vacuum? able to survive?"

[Avenger Assembled]

"No!" said Mark, shaking his head. "That's definitely not something I can do." He dusted off his cape, the last particles of sand falling to the ground. "I've been into space a couple of times with my, uh, dad, but not since I was really little. That was just to starships, so I don't know if I can hit them again. I can try going to the Moon, I guess, I know there is a League stronghold there that has an atmosphere and living conditions 24/7."

[Supercape]

"The moon eh?" muttered Supercape. Ironically, he had never been. Just a dead rock as far as he was concerned. Nothing interesting from an astronomical or planetological point of view.

"Well..." he continued "...how far could you go? if you needed to? just this solar system. I know some nearby...errr... relatively nearby planets orbitting some nearby...errr... relatively nearby stars that one can at least breathe in. "

Damn cold though, he remembered thinking of the frozen ice planet he recently explored. Not for long, he confessed to himself. It was just one big ice cube.

[Avenger Assembled]

Edge was normally a fearless young man, counting on luck and pluck to get him everywhere, but he'd learned in recent years to be a little more thoughtful in these situations. "Sure, I can do that. Just give me a minute." He hmmed and waggled his fingers like a bad stage magician, only his perfect earnestness keeping it from being funny. As he gestured, the air around him warped and woofed, growing solid and substantial even as Supercape looked on, until at last Edge was standing there inside an old-timey spacesuit, complete with bubble helmet, cut to match the colors of his costume. "Okay, this should protect me. Do you have the exact coordinates, maybe a picture?"

[Supercape]

"Excellent" replied Supercape. "It's only minus 40" he explained "Oxygen is a little thin, but breathable. Gravity a little light, around 0.6 G. Very slippery" he explained.

He turned around and punched up some maps on the Lab's computer.

"Here we are..." he continued. "N Vel, about 250 light years away. A few planets orbiting it, none I would recommend except the second, the Arctic one. "

He crunched his knuckles. "Let me know when you are ready. This time I want to go first, be at the arrival destination rather than the departure one. Not that I expect anything radically different, but it is scientific procedure!"

[Avenger Assembled]

Edge agreed, and waited for Supercape to disappear. All right, Mark, biggest jaunt ever. You'd better do your best here.When Supercape was gone off to that other planet so far away, Edge studied the map carefully and took a deep breath. Time to hit deep space... He pushed himself, reaching out with his mind towards the dot on the map, and suddenly everything seemed to go topsy-turvy. On Supercape's end of things, it looked as though the local atmosphere and earth was rearranging itself into Edge as he popped up alongside him on the frozen Arctic world: as if Mark was somehow reaching out with his mind across the vastness of space and imposing himself on the world where he was heading!

[Supercape]

What a ghastly planet... thought Supercape as he surveyed the bleak icy landscape with its bloated orange sun on the horizon.

At least it had some oxygen. It was bitter cold, of course, and he thanked himself for the upgrades he had made a few months ago to the quantum molecular costume he wore. A goldfish bowel covered his head and provided oxygen, whilst his costume adequately shielded him from the cold. The radiation levels were higher than one would like of course, but not dangerous... and he didn't intend either Edge or himself to stay on this planet for long.

Should have gone to that lovely tropical beach planet, with the three suns... he mused, before realising that was in a far distant galaxy, and possibly a little to much of a stretch for Edge. Possibly... he added to himself.

As Edge appeared, Supercape examined the phenomenon carefully. Again, it appeared the most remarkable thing about Edge's powers was, in fact, their unremarkableness. Egde wasn't there, and then he was there. No odd quantum distortions, magnetic bursts, or anything else. In fact, the only evidence he had of any effect was the non-random distrubtion of sub-atomic particles that he picked up with the particle smasher at the Lab.

[Avenger Assembled]

"My god..." said Edge, looking unruffled by the cold in the snug warmness of his homemade environmental suit. "This is amazing!" His voice was muffled by the built-in speakers, but he sounded none the worse for where. "I can't believe I'm actually on another world!" he exclaimed to Supercape. "I mean, I've been on alternate Earths lots of times, but never on an alien planet like this. I mean, wow..." He put his hands on his hips. "So have you visited this planet a lot? I mean it's not exactly a garden spot, but you still knew where it was!"

[Supercape]

"So have you visited this planet a lot? I mean it's not exactly a garden spot, but you still knew where it was!"

"Once or twice" replied Supercape. "It hasn't got a lot going for it really..." he mumbled, surveying the bleak, desolate landscape. "I mean, I suppose it is just about habitable. The only thing really in its favour is that its near. Well, kind of near, to Sol. "

He turned back to Edge. Planet hopping had become almost second nature to him now, but he still retained the awe of visiting a new world. He realised for Edge, this being his first hop, the experience must be quite amazing. And yes, it had been pretty overpowering for him too.

"Kind of amazing, really, when you think about it" he said turning his head to the skies. "When I last went here, worked out where Sol was, actually. Now then... lets have a look...yes, over there, just under that line of four stars, there, do you see?" he pointed at the sky. The bloated sun was just peeking over the horizon but was very faint anyway. The stars could just be made out.

[Avenger Assembled]

"Wow!" said Edge, thoroughly impressed. "I can't believe we're on another planet watching Earth. That's totally awesome." He hmmed and added, a little in awe, "I can't believe I sent us to another planet...wow!" He shot Supercape a look through the helmet. "What's the nicest planet you've ever visited?" he asked Supercape. "Are we in range of it?" He didn't look that bothered even now to be on the desolate frozen desert, and while they talked he bent down and ran his fingers through the white power beneath his feet.

[Supercape]

"The nicest planet?" replied Supercape "well, its a big old universe" he shrugged. "Its an even bigger old multiverse..." he added. "If I lived to be a hundred I couldn't hope to explore even 1 percent of just this galaxy... 50 billion planets in it. Imagine that. 50 billion. If I looked at one a day, that would be just 20,000 for before I die..."

"And that's just this galaxy. There are over 200 billion galaxies in the universe..."

He gazed up into the night sky.

"Its impossible..."

He smiled at Edge.

"Anyway, the nicest one I have been to is a nearby galaxy. Probably a bit far. Jolly nice one in this galaxy too, a water world with beuatiful crystal islands, sparkling seas, and three glorious suns!"

[Avenger Assembled]

"My dad's been in deep space a lot," said Mark reflectively, "I always thought I'd go out into space with him when I was old enough. Maybe meet the Lor, or fight the Grue..." He shrugged as if chasing away a bad memory. "Anyway, where's next? I don't think we can stay on this place forever, though I could change it up a little if you wanted." He hmmed, scratching his chin through his little bubble helmet. "Maybe back to Earth, and taking some of this with us as a way of seeing how much mass I can carry over the super-long-distance trips?"

[Supercape]

"Good Idea. This is a horrible little planet" agreed Supercape. "To be honest, I never want to see it again!" he joked.

He looked around and kicked the Ice half heartedly.

"Lets go back. Why not take some Ice with you? At the very worst, it can only melt and we can drain it away. And you never know, we can always use it to chill our drinks with a spot of luck. "

He cracked his knuckles and started bending time and space before stopping. "Errr, now, do you know your way back? Don't want to leave you stranded here, young fellow?"

He gazed once more at the desolate planet.

"Especially not here!"

[Avenger Assembled]

They hopped around the galaxy for a while, but eventually even Mark's formidable reserves flagged and they headed back to Earth. Exhausted, but not at all displeased with all they found, Mark immediately banished his makeshift spacesuit, running his hands through his sweatsoaked hair as he headed out of the test center. "Holy cow! I haven't worked like that in...forever." He looked over at Supercape, who seemed to have come through all the bouncing in better shape than he had. "That was amazing. I hope you got everything you needed, because I am going to be good for nothing for a while. How about some tea? We could drink tea and discuss our findings, like gentlemen?"

[Supercape]

"Tea?" replied Supercape grinning, "tea?"

He had secreted tea bags everywhere. In his cape, in the Lab, in several HQs of other heroes.

"Of course, sir!"

He whipped out a few bags of Earl Grey and dashed to the nearest tap. A burst of microwaves brought it to the boil and within a few minutes he had whipped up a steaming mug of tea for Edge and himself. Probably Edge could have whipped one out of thin air, he guessed, although the boy looked a little tired from the planet hopping. Besides, there was the ritual of tea-making to consider.

"Well, to be honest, I can summarise your abilities in two discrete sentences. 1. Things happen. and 2. Nasty radiation doesn't happen. That's the short form, anyway. "

[Avenger Assembled]

"That's good to know," replied Mark, studying his tea for a few moments before taking a careful sip. He wasn't a big tea drinker, but this stuff wasn't half bad! If you were into tea, anyway. "I mean, as much as I use my powers, that I'm not making anyone sick. And it does mean I can use them in the field for UNISON and not make anyone else sick." He nodded at that, then broached what sounded like a difficult question. "Is there any way for you to tell what effects they have on the mind? My mind, that is?" He looked up at Supercape and confessed, "My powers, are...well, they're inherited. And some people in my family haven't dealt very well with carrying around all that power."

[Supercape]

Supercape scratched his chin. He half wished he had a beard, and toyed with the idea of changing his costume into a mimic of Doctor Freud's.

"Well, not directly" he replied "as far as I can tell. And I can probably give you as good as guess as any..."

It was true. Both that he could give as good a guess as any. And that it would be a guess. His own powers stemmed precisely from mental observation to effect and he was an expert in how quantum effects entwined with observer effects. He was an expert in biology in psychology as well as physics. He may not be Doctor Archeville, but this was up his street.

The problem was... well the problem was the Edge's powers simply happened... they had some barely detectable effect on random distribution on subatomic particles that barely existed but that was it. It had taken an expert in quantum physics and one of the worlds largest particle colliders to notice any effect, let alone link it in any causal way to Edge's powers.

"I mean, it wont affect your brain as far as I can tell. The effect the power has on your psyche, or psychology... your personality. Thats another thing. How do you feel about it?"

[Avenger Assembled]

"It's...it's a lot to think about," Mark admitted. "I spent a lot of my life not really thinking about my powers, not ever trying to develop them, and when they just sort of ramped up the last few years, I wasn't really sure what to do about it. I mean..." He shifted uncomfortably. "I haven't found a lot of things I _can't_ do, just things that are too hard for me to do right now. And that's scary to me. I mean, I'm a good person, I use my powers to help people. But I've seen what happens when powers like this aren't used to help. And I worry about being that kind of person." He put his hands around his teacup as if trying to keep himself warm. "Being thoughtful about things isn't something I know how to do. But it seems like all I can do is think about this."

[Supercape]

Supercape patted the young man gently on the shoulder.

"I can't imagine that's easy..." he started "...I..." he wondered whether to continue.

"...there is a theoretical concern. Chaos theory. Using your powers might lead to unpredictable future events or, well, ripples that could magnify in all sorts of ways. "

He itched to scrawl down the maths. But even he barely understood it, and it was largely conjencture in Edge's case.

"I don't know what to say about that really. Just, well... be careful? Whilst there is no immediate problems with your powers there may be long term effects on reality that are impossible to predict. Or even detect, as we become entangled in that effect. Its all rather complicated..."

He sat down.

"That's chaos theory I suppose. All rather interesting, but completely useless..." he trailed off, beginning to regret opening his mouth on the matter.

[Avenger Assembled]

"That's actually really reassuring," said Mark, who did indeed look like he'd relaxed under Supercape's tutelage. "I don't have a lot of chances to talk about this with my friends at school, because they wouldn't really understand. Some of them have a lot worse problems, some of them a lot less, but none are quite as personal as mine. They don't worry about becoming bad guys. At least, not in the same way. What's chaos theory?" Mark asked, who'd always done well at math, though nowadays he was smart enough to know that was a result of him getting lucky at test time.

[Supercape]

"Chaos theory?" replied Supercape "why, its really quite simply, young fellow. Look, here, let me show you..."

Supercape grabbed a pencil, licked it, and proceeded to write down, with excited animation (via speech and gestures) the maths and explanation of Chaos theory.

He was actually quite a good teacher. He did it for a living.

Teach post graduate maths and quantum physics that is.

In his excitement, he forgot he was explaining the theory to someone who had only a school education in maths. He flurried off a series of complex differentials and calculus on the maths, all the while talking about fractals and random events.

"And there..." he said with a flourish, rounding off a particularly complex equation "...you have it!" he beamed.

"I hope that gives you some insight into the basic theory. You may even find it helpful with regards to your powers!"

[Avenger Assembled]

Inside Mark's head, crickets chirped for a moment before he gathered himself. "That was very helpful, sir," said Mark without blinking, telling the sort of smooth lies that even his friends didn't realize he cold do without batting an eyelash. "but could you explain it to me in words? Preferably simple ones. I'd like to share all the stuff you just gave me, but I don't think my friends will understand the maths, and I don't think I could explain them nearly as well as you just did. After all, I only have high school math." He smiled winningly. "I'm not an expert like you!"

[Supercape]

"Ah yes, of course" replied Supercape, smacking his head with the rather worn down pencil.

He stretched back. "Well, in a nutshell, Chaos theory is all about predicting how things are always unpredictable... if that makes any sense. Which, er, it probably doesn't, now I think about it..."

He scratched his head again.

"I suppose its just maths, telling you that you cant control everything perfectly... small errors creep in, tiny effects lead to large effects. Ultimately, everything becomes unpredictable, chaotic..."

[Avenger Assembled]

"That does sound like me," said Mark with a little smile. "Or at least, the person I've turned out to be. It's funny how much high school can change your expectations about the kind of person you'll grow up to be," he said reflectively. "When I found out about my powers, I knew I was going to run off, join the Freedom League, and be a big-time superhero. Now, if I'm working for UNISON, I'll be one of those people who pops up in documentaries about international heroes or stuff like that. Maybe make it onto Freedom League Africa someday." He smiled thinly and finished his tea. "And you know, I'm actually really happy about that. Maybe it's not what I planned, maybe it's all just chaos...but I know I'm making the right choice."

[Supercape]

"Maybe, maybe..." shrugged Supercape "you need to see into the future to really tell if its the right choice...and even then, you get into complicated observer entanglement predeterminism paradoxes, why when I tried to do it by bending the nth space heisenbergian fractal I..."

"*ahem* never mind. Just do the best you can, young man. And keep it cricket. I don't really think I can give you much further advice, or be of much further help. Unless you want to travel to another galaxy, that is!" he smiled "and I think Africa will be just fine! just don't bring back to much sand!"