PmWiki | XcomAcademy / TopSecret

SPOILERS AHOY!

"How do we get up there? The Skyranger can't, the Firestorms woudln't make a dent in it..."

"We surrender!"

"What?"

"Talk to them with the purple thingy. Say that you've had enough of us normies and want to join their psionics club. Then take one of the two UFOs we recovered intact."

"Callsign: Jebediah!"

"I don't know, fly casual."

The Grey Market folks intend to gather, and classify, alien biotech to offer immortality to current political and corporate figures, for a service fee of course; when Meld appears, they are elated. Bradford is told by them to prioritise Meld acquistion above all else.

EXALT is not set up intentionally, but rather discovered allowed to prosper, as an "alternate option" when XCOM doesn't immediately go whole hog on gene mods; eventually EXALT efforts come up with an immortality serum, after which the secret society is left to its own devices after XCOM is given enough hints as to where their primary operation is. This allows Grey Market derps to simply buy EXALT tech off XCOM.

The Council are genuinely benign, this time around; they are eventually informed about the immortality gambit, and pressured from their respective government to keep a lid on it, but drop hints to XCOM cadre about it. After the first couple months, the Councilman has been voice-over-ed, and knows it. This is discovered by lips moving out of sync. A deaf research crewmwmber is asked to interpret. This is how hints are delivered.

When the Uber Ethereal offers ascension to humanity, the Grey Market pushers take the offer (they are the two-armed Ethereal-like figures seen in the ethereal temple), and come up with an agreement. The Uber Ethereal can now afford to "lose the war", having gotten what it wants, and when the XCOM team shows up on the Temple Ship, it makes up a confused story about humanity being tested in order to let XCOM think they won. The plan is for the human-Ethereal hybrids to assimilate into society from positions of privilege; this gives the otherwise smallish Ethereal cult a power base the size of an an entire planet to start expanding from. Basically XCOM is a prequel to "They Live".

Ethereals have little but psi, they took genes and tech from other races (explains why schizotech wrt yarnalls vs. everything else, why no plasma specialized guns etc). Universe is full of Economy 2.0 onion brains. Ethereals are trying to basically buy their way in with enough starting capital that they do not lose their personalities. Creative minds are the currency. Tech we made is "well, you know those doodads companies give away at trade shows". Humans unusual in that the Grey Market people caught on to this, were actually invited to join in. Plan is to mine the earth for creativity letting it exhaust resources, then move on. The "real" alien treaty happened roughly when (inflection point after which the game gets easier), since the grey market and ethereal plans dovetailed anyway.

Small problem: The Councilman sends a last tape to XCOM, containing the very movie, since there was no time to record a better message. Cue real last mission (multiplayer map?) with XCOM cadre facing off against Ethereals and hybrids (very high-point exalt derps) on top of the rebuilt EXALT headquarters, now used as an acclimation facility, to reveal the conspiracy.

HYBRID VICTORY: XCOM Academy was a prequel to Waylights; the aliens win the fight, and thinking that anything is better than a future of enslavement, XCOM releases all the Meld. The stuff self-organizes into a xenoforming agent, and starts rewriting the ecosystem. Now we'll have to survive together.

XCOM VICTORY: Same as They Live's ending, really; the hybrids and immortals are exposed for the world to see. This throws the world into chaos for a few days before they can resume control. The mess gives XCOM enough time to take all the Firestorm interceptors to tow a hastily built "orbital barge" containing an alien power plant and other necessities to Mars, in order to colonize it. The Cydonia region is settled. A message to the United Nations is sent once the trip is complete, featuring the XCOM cadre in cheesy alien masks: "We are vigilant. We are trusted, unlike you. Remember, we will be watching." The message is suppressed. XCOM Academy was a prequel to "Riser".

By the way, the reason why there's only one Skyranger is that the first one took an unholy amount of time to make. No alien technology there, it's just that fine tuned. Also, there are no more Iroquois engines to be had, and enough people involved in the Avro Arrow and Yakovlev-141 messes are still around and sitting on expensive chairs to justify not opening that can of worms. By military pork/waste standards, it's SOP.

The Ethereals are practicing consensual body snatching, taking over rich and powerful people and putting them into an artificial afterlife. Thus they take over.

Othe possibility: Ethereals are like the The Wunch from Accelerando, but more proactive. They want to ascend without losing their identities, which requires a surplus of cash (inspiration) to dock with the marketmind routers, so they try to get it by staging invasions, taking the resulting tech, and buying entry tickets with harvested DNA of various species, one planet per tempelship.

"Of course it got easier after that! We even staged the base assault just to give you a reason to stick around! The Ethereal wanted someone smart enough to 'win the war' and them us of their priestly faction, but trusting enough to not look into what was going on Earth side! And it WORKED! You figured it out too late!"

"Thing is, it always come down back to this. EXALT's base was here. UFOs got to land and takeoff from here freely. Even the company running the Chrysalid hive ship is from here. You know who else is supposed to be here? Riley and Stephen! You're right, I'm too trusting. They ain't. And I don't believe for a second that they disappeared so WHERE ARE THEY!"

The man laughs. "They're gone. Forget it. We're all already ready to forget you."

"Fine then. Look at me. Come on, look at me! No plan, no backup, no weapons worth a damn, oh, and something else I don't have: anything to lose! So, if you NWO lot and your Ethereal pals are sitting up here in your silly little skyscrapers with all your silly little guns, and you've got any plans on taking the Earth tonight, just remember who's standing in your way! Remember every black day I ever stopped you, and then, *and then*, do the smart thing! Let the other guy try first."

"That's not even flour from your bag. You're not a Time Lord. You won because we let you win, of course we let you win, and that is a television show. For kids. Your weapon won't work on me, I know for a fact you won't kill a human being, and security is going to be here in two minutes. You've helped. Leave it at that. You can't win this one."

"Good plan. Good idea. Small problem. One unwarranted assumption."

"What's that."

I crush his windpipe. He is drowning. He can still listen. "I don't need weapons to kill a pencil neck like you. Bradford? One Slenderman down. Shen? Get Kite to open the Ethereal device again." I take my helmet off. Security shows up. I glare at them.

"So why did we only get to bomb the site in Newfoundland?"

"There were factional disagreements once it was obvious that you would not be easily conquered. One group wanted to wipe you out. That, the kraken. Another wanted to use you to ascend. You'll never guess which faction planned the base attack, just to keep you in charge. Eventually, the Ethereal faction that won out were... amenable to a deal with us. To answer your question, it became expedient to let you recover technology, once you demonstrated that you could use it more flexibly than they."

"The Ethereals used us to reverse engineer their technology, because they don't understand it either! You... parasites!"

"No, this is what you have gotten wrong all your life. We are higher beings. You are part of the ecosystem we are on top of. Are you a parasite because you cannot photosynthesize? You farm plant life for food, we farm technological life for ideas. The Ethereals were just a little better at it than us and, of course, we are always happy to learn."

Much like yourselves, we were divided - easily overlooked eventuality, sure. The words don't matter, so let me map them to a purpose for you. The Warriors, the Priests, and the Traders. Your soldiers humiliated the Warriors. Your pet scared the head Priest to death. We Traders saw it coming, it was our plan D. And we planned for it. Today you won the game, but we've bought the cup weeks ago.

So the people who allegedly only recently woke up and demanded UN control of XCOM, the same who cam here to supervise the handover which is why you were disarmed, were under long-term mind control. I hope that it was a one-time opportunity.

Whoever they got to play me takes the helmet off. A vision of beauty. "That's an actor! I'm the Headmaster! Two reasons: One, look at that face. Now look at mine!" I lift my visor. The cameramen won't miss this, and I see my ugly mug on the jumbtron. "Who do you think has been to war? Huh? Look at us! Two: Whatever the intro at the beginning said - everybody in my unit knows I can't aim for shit!"

"Dastardly plan, Miss Taggart. But why tell it to a man in sword and armor?" I flourish it. Psionically boosted, she easily gets out of my way, then looks at me with superiority.

"Don't bother - I know you're too conditioned against hitting a woman. Between that and my enlightened nerves, you wouldn't stand a chance. But... we're traders, like I said, so now that physical violence is off the table: let's discuss our last offer. Your psionic friend was sucked up by the resonant sphere when she destroyed the Temple Ship - it's a failsafe. She's in the one you have in your chamber, with our patrons. And - we have full control if it. Cooperate, and she will enjoy a long existence within our collective. You may even get her back when we rebuild our technology. Don't, and we will summon Hell around her. In your custody, in your responsibility, forever out of your reach."

Ever resourceful, the Traders got the last deal out of the Priests to put my friend's soul in a psionic nightmare. My dear friend Kite, trapped forever in a prison of the mind.

Taggart lets it sink in. "Moments will feel like years of agony to her, just by my will. A fate barely better than death, just so you have an incentive to not destroy the sphere."

"You put Kite in a time-accelerated psionic torture chamber? Linked to your own brain?"

She smiles mirthlessly. "Yes. I am beginning to torture her as we speak. You cannot win; meet our terms, it is the best deal you can get." Her eyes flutter; she's holding all the cards, and she knows it. She doesn't need situational awareness.

I laugh. "Do your worst. I mean it."

"... What?" Not what she expected. Good. That gives me a few seconds. I drop the gun, pick her up, and hold her off the ground. She stares at me. "...what are you doing?"

"I'll tell you what I'm going to do. I'm going to wait until I see Kite behind your eyes, because you can't throw any mental hellscape at her that she hasn't already seen and beaten. God have mercy on what's left of your soul, because she won't."

More eyeflutter, more purple flecks coming from her face. Then she starts squirming, and I know that they're worried. I turn around, still holding her in my grip, and walk to a corner.

"Now we wait, Miss Taggart. Your securistas can get up the stairs, maybe wound me, but they can't really get me without killing you. And if I know Kite, your psyche will get tired before my arms do."

Now she's struggling. I grin. "And now... we wait."

"Get off me! GET OFF ME!" I don't know if she's talking to me, or Kite. Both.

I hold tighter. To Taggart, it's an implacable grip. To Kite, I hope, through whatever psionic gauntlet she's going through, it's a hug from a comrade. "Sorry, that's not the safeword."

I can hear heavy steps up the staircase. Security will be here... but not too soon, from the cadence.

Taggart froths at the mouth, tries to punch my back to break free, in spastic movements. "WHAT ARE YOU PEOPLE!"

"We're X-COM. Watchful. Trustworthy." I try to mean it.

Taggart seems to pass out, right out of a scene from The Exorcist. "Actually, we're a band of borderline crazy people with UFOs. Same as the guys you sided with, really. Except: we' re better. At it. Than you."

I don't know if I can fight the securistas, depends on how many, and what weapons. Maybe they'll listen to me. Maybe they won't. Depends on how many, and how sane. Enemy unknown, what else is new?

Right up to my face, a pair of eyes opens, bleary.

"The Traders were fascinated by us. In their travels, they had found plenty of life, little sentience, and very few truly spacefaring civilizations - it looks like the speed of light is still an insurmountable barrier. They met hive minds, communistic societies, even a few simple free market economies - but no spacefaring race had, has, a better-developed financial system than we do."

Wasn't there a XKCD strip about this? I nod.

"Much like the Priests, they decided that it was fitting that a species who was doing such a good job at holding them at bay despite obvious technology imbalance, and closing said imbalance so quickly, embodied their founding principles so well. And so... we found it easy to come to a deal."