It was not often that Dr. Black had contact with the Jesuits, or any form of church for that matter, but when offered a lecture at Fordham the good doctor had been willing to accept in the name of professional courtesy. The Gothic cathedral he would be lecturing also helped, of course, but that's neither here nor there. Really, though, Tognino Hall was just a marvelous location, and in any case Dr. Black found the thought of preaching his own brand of nihilism at a Jesuit university pleasantly blasphemous.

The audience was, in typical human fashion, whispering the delicate dance of sweet social nothings that reassure the herd that all is well and safe. Meaningless, but comforting. Well, that would soon be put a stop to, wouldn't it. The good doctor approached the podium, comfortably distant from the human mass at its front, and produced the sickening wheeze of a cough he could muster. Silence, albeit a rather awkward one, proceeded immediately. Dr. Black, in turn, proceeded to fill it.

"The essential condition of self-awareness, perhaps even life itself, is emptiness. Pure, perfect emptiness. From this proceeds humankind's search for such elusive concepts as 'meaning' and 'purpose.' This has amused me for quite some time because, like any philosopher, I think I have all the answers. Those of us who don't admit that, by the way, are the ones you should be worried about. So, here I am to share some of those answers. I'm going to tell you the meaning of life. You see, ladies and gentlemen... there isn't one."

Anyone fainted yet? No? How disappointing.

"Well, not originally, anyway. In the absence of meaning, we make it up. Some of us are exceptionally talented at this, and their answers to answerless questions tend to be adopted by other people who are tired of asking. This, of course, leads to large numbers of very confused people using other peoples answers to answer their own questions, neither of which they really understand."

Ideally, the audience would now be experiencing a sense of existential despair as they realized that their own belief were far less valid than they seemed a few minutes ago. Sadly, this was probably too much to hope for. "Do not despair, though! Indeed, there is no intrinsic meaning to your ultimately insignificant existence, but this is not damning, this is liberating. The problem, you see, is that you allow the rest of humanity to define your lives. Your life, your morality, is just that. It is yours. If, that is you are willing to make it so." In fact, the good doctor was about to help his audience do just that. Kindness certainly was one of his virtues.

"To that end, Ladies and Gentlemen, It is my pleasure to inform you that you are all being held hostage."

No response? Nothing but confused stares? Really? Dr. Black had been hoping for mass panic of course, but even terrified whispers and fearful trembling would have been something. Oh well. "I'm afraid I have taken the liberty of rendering the relevant security personnel unconscious for the time being, and have taken custody of the lecture hall keys, since their keepers are now presently indisposed." A black tendril slid from Dr. Black's left hand and withdrew a heavy ring of keys from his coat. His tentacle's claw hooked onto the ring and let it hang in plain view of the assembled captives. Simultaneously, Reginald's right hand twisted the ivory head of the cane hanging from his side and pulled out a long, slender blade. "So, I believe you will appreciate that the answer to my own question may be a matter of life and death." At this the good doctor indulged himself with a slightly maniacal grin.

"Are there any ubermenschen in the house?"

Aedus had promised his mother that if he wasn't going to attend the catholic church with his family then he would in fact attend some sort of religious gathering, sometime, somewhere...the fact that he had picked up a flyer announcing the eloquent Dr.Black would be speaking on Nihilism at this location would have to be looked at an oversight his mother really should have insisted on. He was pretty sure that his mother would look at nihilism as a step further away from faith then his current atheism. after all,atheism professed that there is no god...Nihilism seems to conclude that everything is nothing.

Aedus was infinitely amused by the fact. He listened to the odd man speak on the finer points of the flaw in modern thought. He then tilted his head in amusement at the thought that a few locks might hold them in... these doors were not made to stand up to lava. He didn't know a door that was.

Aedus wasn't completely sure of whether or not the man was looking for Nazi's or if he was looking for superhumans...either way it was a good chance to get to the front, between Mr.tentacles and the sheep...sheep needed a Shepard. Damn it. This would solidify Mom's I told you so.

Aedus stood up and walked to the front of the sanctuary and sat on the first pew. Where the oddly shaped Mr.Black, seemed to have been made to offend the eye. Aedus was made to please. The short, balding man at the podium would easily be cast as the villain if this were a movie. Aedus's jawline alone proclaimed him the hero....Man, he needed to get his ego in check.

As Aedus sat on the front row he lifted his voice to a volume that Black would be able to hear. "I'm assuming that you are not in fact looking for Nazi's."

ooc: Aedus, Im going to assume this thread takes place before the one I sent you. So if you wanted to wait to respond to that one til we get more from this we can, or we can assume you already know Lumen from this situation.

IC:
Most people were surprised to learn Lumen was a practising Catholic in today's world of I have a scientific answer for that. But, she was Irish, and the Catholic roots ran deep in her family. She didn't agree with everything the church said and did, and she certainly did think for herself, but the faith aspect of the religion certainly called to her. Back home she'd often indulge in Adoration, the Catholic form of meditation. Amazing things could happen to a person in Adoration and Lumen had been witness to such things. It only furthered her belief in a higher power. Maybe not the one the church explained, but she wasn't about to completely cut off the religion because she didn't agree with everything. There was merit. She was annoyed however that so many people upon hearing that she had a religious affiliation determined she must therefor be closed minded. She felt the people who chose to ignore religion to be closed minded. It took a VERY open mind indeed to approach any religion in this modern world.

It was at Sunday mass- the first one she'd attended in New York that the Jesuit monk had told her about the lecture and given her a pamphlet. She'd absent-mindedly tucked it away until last night when it fell out of her bag. She read all sides of it and felt this lecture should prove interesting after all. Always good to know who the fanatics were where you lived. And this Dr. Black certainly sounded like one. The Jesuit insisted that in order to have a strong faith we couldn't simply ignore people like Dr. Black. We must engage them in the spiritual battlefield and learn their tactics and all they have to say to better protect ourselves. Lumen didn't know how she felt about all that, but it did look to make an interesting lecture.

She was ushered into the lecture hall quickly upon arrival and then to the sanctuary. She took one of the seats toward the back. She'd always been a dutiful student in her own studies but sitting in the front always made her nervous. She couldn't see what was going on behind her. Dr. Black entered and my, was there a lot of him to see.

>>>"The essential condition of self-awareness, perhaps even life itself, is emptiness. Pure, perfect emptiness. From this proceeds humankind's search for such elusive concepts as 'meaning' and 'purpose.' This has amused me for quite some time because, like any philosopher, I think I have all the answers. Those of us who don't admit that, by the way, are the ones you should be worried about. So, here I am to share some of those answers. I'm going to tell you the meaning of life. You see, ladies and gentlemen... there isn't one."

Lumen just stared blankly ahead. That wasn't much of an introduction, was it meant to grip her? Enrage her? It had been exactly what she'd prepared herself to hear, maybe even less. She felt disappointed. She pulled out her phone and checked for new messages. Hmmm no signal. That was weird.

>>>"Well, not originally, anyway. In the absence of meaning, we make it up. Some of us are exceptionally talented at this, and their answers to answerless questions tend to be adopted by other people who are tired of asking. This, of course, leads to large numbers of very confused people using other peoples answers to answer their own questions, neither of which they really understand."

Hmm well that was an interesting way of putting it. But Lumen felt the very reason she was here because she wasn't tired of asking. She didn't think she'd ever be. After all, that was the very foundation of her search for her lost brother. Her other half. She never allowed herself the courtesy of using someone else's answer. Lumen always tried to discover her own or would blatantly tell you she didn't have one yet.

>>>"Do not despair, though! Indeed, there is no intrinsic meaning to your ultimately insignificant existence, but this is not damning, this is liberating. The problem, you see, is that you allow the rest of humanity to define your lives. Your life, your morality, is just that. It is yours. If, that is you are willing to make it so."

She was starting to rule this Dr. Black as just another ego inflated wind bag. Nothing he was saying was particularly insightful, merely avoiding. No new argument here. She was hoping to feel challenged at this lecture. Where was the spiritual warfare the monk had promised her? She looked around to see some just as disengaged as she was, and others clearly offended. She shook her head. If they were so easily offended why were they even here? Like moths to a flame...

>>>"To that end, Ladies and Gentlemen, It is my pleasure to inform you that you are all being held hostage."

Lumen stared at the little man confused. Was that meant to be some sort of parallel? Were they being held hostage to their own belief system? Well... that actually could make for an interesting argument. Perhaps she was going to get something from this lecture after all...

>>>"I'm afraid I have taken the liberty of rendering the relevant security personnel unconscious for the time being, and have taken custody of the lecture hall keys, since their keepers are now presently indisposed.

And then she saw the tentacle, the gears started turning, and everything clicked. Dr. Black was more than your usual fanatic. He was a mutant fanatic. and by the look of those tentacles, a dangerous one. Running for the door made no sense, he eluded as much as she bet he was right. She didn't want to draw attention to herself... yet. but as she sat in her spot she worked on becoming aware of her surroundings. What could she use to fight with if she needed to? There was no running in this situation. Too many innocents and nowhere to run.

>>>"So, I believe you will appreciate that the answer to my own question may be a matter of life and death."

Like hell. Lumen wasn't here to play a game of Saw with this wack job. She concentrated on her energy, the energy she'd been reactively spreading throughout her body to keep the glow at bay and keep her eyes from hurting. She'd need that energy in her head now. In case she needed to tap into her power.

Then a young man in front stood up.
<<<"I'm assuming that you are not in fact looking for Nazi's."

Oh great, feed the flames will you? Face. Palm.

"I'm assuming that you are not in fact looking for Nazi's"

How quaint. "Nazis, my dear boy, are entirely too easy find." The doctor said with a scowl and a flick of his sword. "The ubermensch is not."

As one tentacle held the keys, Dr. Black's arm slithered into several more tendrils, enveloping the ring in his own dark mass. "Brute force is not a terribly elegant method, but it does throw one's own morality into such stark relief. A captive with the audacity to mock his captor is, after all, a start." Most of the audience was crowding into the back of the hall, not scattering so much as creeping away from the good doctor's podium. A few, for whatever reason, remained in their seats. Perhaps they were just being cautious, perhaps something altogether more promising. "If I had simply asked this congregation what they would do if I took them hostage, how many do you think would say they would oppose me? Far fewer, I should think, than will do so now."

Dr. Black hopped out from behind the podium and raised his sword to the eyes of his challenger, just out of arm's reach. "Of course, I have no way of knowing just what made you stand against me, whether it was some perverse sense of societal expectation or a commitment to your own moral principals, but perhaps by tonight's end I shall have an answer out of you, and out of anyone else with enough conviction to get in my way." The doctor's tentacles writhed, coiling and uncoiling to show the occasional glimpse of metal in their midst. "And that's the real key, isn't it? Not what I say, not what you do, perhaps not even what we believe, but why. That, I think, is the answer that will set us all free. You see, I'm not really here to teach you, I'm here to learn."

Streak was interested in seeing what this talk was about. The flyer seems interesting enough for him to want to go. He wasn't necessarily interested in the idea that was being thrown around but it certainly had promise to bring up some good points.

He showed up just before the lecture started. He thought it was interesting that this was being held at a church. Once it started it was soon apparent that this definitely wasn't a lecture that would always be heard at a place like this.

The young man wasn't to sure what this was all a out. He wasn't even sure that this was a talk that he was interested in listening to. It seemed to not really interest him until the man started talking about being hostages. Streak nodded his agreement. The metaphor was interesting and it wasn't until people started to back away from the speaker did he realize that this guy wasn't talking metaphorically.

A couple of people didn't move; Shawn happened to be one of them. One guy even stood up and their conversation seemed to end with a sword in the guys face. Well if it was someone to stand up to him then he had taken the wrong guy hostage. Streak had more experience fighting, especially with swords, more times than people could say that they've even seen the news. "If you want to learn then all you have to do is ask." Streak said piping up. His reasoning was interesting and certainly not a method that was normally adopted by hostage takers.

Emily was not happy being taken hostage. She wondered what possessed her to come to a nihilism lecture in the first place. She didn’t know what it was or what “ubermensch” meant. But apparently it wasn’t a good thing.

Whatever this man was planning, it couldn’t be good. Was he hoping for a ransom or a get-away car? No, this man did not seem the type to care about trifles such as those. He wanted to prove a point, probably about the meaning of life, since that is what he was spitting about earlier. Emily didn’t like it. There were too many people in this room. A panic could break out at any moment and mass hysteria never helps anything.

Was he planning to kill each of them one by one, hoping to see a reaction to how people pleaded for their lives? Was he going to put them against each other, hoping the desire for survival surpassed the desire for morality?

Two men interrupted the man. It looked like their might be a fight. There were too many people in the room. Someone might get hurt. “Dr. Black, I understand your desire to test the human condition, but wouldn’t it be more effective if there weren’t so many variables in your equation? I believe that you would agree that you should let some people go."

It wasn't the first time Dorian had visited Tognino Hall. When you fancy yourself an intellectual, you aren't gainfully employed, and you don't live too far away from some good universities, it's not such a bad idea to drop in on a free lecture every now and then. It was certainly more fun for him than sitting around, wishing and waiting for the day that a publisher would finally print his book about the untold stories of the Registration Act. Or street performing, which had stopped being fun for him almost a year ago.

Most of the philosophers whom Dorian remembered hearing at Fordham were disappointingly traditional. Their ideas were echoes of things that came long before all the nihilism of the modern and postmodern eras. Which was okay, because various degrees of nihilism had somehow became mainstream in the university's intellectual climate. Statements like "god is real" and "there is a universal, objective morality to which we are all held accountable" were now groundbreaking ideas that challenged tightly-held beliefs among the undergraduate population.

But this lecture promised to be a different animal entirely. Finally, someone was here to talk about nihilism! And he was called "Dr. Black," no less! What an excellent name! Dorian came early to secure a front-row seat for himself, thinking all the edgy, freethinking undergrads would flood the lecture hall to hear this guy.

He hadn't counted on Christmas break. There weren't many undergrads present; most of them were off to see their families. Their loss; Dorian was starting to like this guy ten seconds into his speech. He didn't even bother to introduce himself, or have anyone else introduce him. He went straight for the throat – BAM! Life has no meaning. That was the starting point for the lecture. Where, Dorian wondered, do you go from there?

Why, clearly, you reveal that you're a mutant and you've taken everyone in the room hostage.

...

Nope, he couldn't say that he was expecting that. Nor was he expecting Dr. Black to be a dangerous mutant. That tentacle-thing had a pretty nasty-looking claw on the end of it. And as if that wasn't enough, he had a sword. But, mutant or no, it would be too easy for the off-duty street performer to make himself an invisible handgun, shoot the locks off a door, and make his merry way out.

And on his way out, he would tell himself that he had just wasted what was starting to be a very interesting evening.

Notepad and pencil came out of his pocket. He wanted to tell Dr. Black something, but he wasn't sure what, yet. As some fled to the back of the room, and others stayed near the front and spoke, he tapped his chin with his pencil and thought. He'd decided that he wanted to stay, but to what end?

By the time the brunette woman a few seats away from him had finished saying something silly about releasing the hostages, Dorian had finished writing his note.

Hello, Dr. Black. My name is Dorian. I am a powerful mutant who cannot speak. This is by far the most interesting lecture I have attended here. I would like to help you keep those keys out of the others' hands, for now.

Dorian then stood up, tore the page with this message from his notebook, folded it, and walked over to the doctor, holding the piece of paper out for him to accept it.

Feed the flames indeed.

Aedus would do it, if he had to. If the man pressed the blade foreword meaning to stab him the blade would meet a body of lava, melting the blade and possibly catching this old building on fire. Hopefully they had a good sprinkler system.

~~"Nazis, my dear boy, are entirely too easy find."

“I disagree; you can’t throw a rock in this city without finding one of us. Have you seen the gun to person ratio of this city? Mutants aside, you are lucky humans haven’t filled you with lead. My reasoning you should be well acquainted with, He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. To sit and watch, or encourage would be monstrous.” A glare shot at the man passing the good doctor notes and his odd pleasant nature. “And doctor, do remember, when you gaze long into an abyss the abyss also gazes into you.” Dr. Black wasn’t the first man to read Nietzsche, He wouldn’t be the last.

A simple nod to what the other man in the congregation had said.

His teeth grit together as he heard Emily’s voice call out, all the more reason to stand between them and tentacles here. Was he the only one angered by this? The others were calling out reason to the man. He attempted to take them hostage. Reason was on vacation. Couldn’t they see the sword in his face?
He had one trick, mutation was and it was kind of all or nothing. If he was going to do it he was more than prepared to take it to the end, if the good doctor wanted to meet oblivion so bad, then he could introduce them easily. He would just stop resisting the heat.

Lumen found herself punching the buttons on her phone. Still no signal, still no signal. Did places like this just come with signal blockers or what? It seriously annoyed her that at the end of 2011 they still had dead spots in the modern world where cell phone reception just didnt happen.

She wasnt sure what she could do, her power wasnt strong enough to do a heck of a lot against Dr Black but there was one thing... she concentrated hard on all the lights in the room. Her heart sped up, skipped, then began to slow. Concentrate. Concentrate.

buzz

The lights went out in the room, every single one. Maybe that would help the hero standing up at the front gain a little advantage with those tentacles while momentarily disorienting Dr Black and the stupid gawkers in the room. Hopefully they'd be smart enough to stay where they were.

The sword snapped to Reginald's side as another voice assaulted his hearing.

"If you want to learn then all you have to do is ask"

A noble sentiment, but like most such thoughts it was devastatingly inaccurate. "I've tried. Often. You really have no idea how long I've been asking, but sadly such answers are seldom useful. I've actually been quite courteous in waiting so long before resorting to more direct methods."

"Dr. Black, I understand your desire to test the human condition, but wouldn't it be more effective if there weren't so many variables in your equation?"

At least the lady had some sense of decorum. "The variable in question has already been isolated, Miss..." He trailed off, searching for a name. "I am here to observe the range of human morality, and without these kind if unwitting volunteers I would not have a suitably expansive spectrum to investigate."

"I believe you would agree that you should let some people go."

Of course she would think so. She was not the one with the sword. The good doctor, however, had a rather different perspective. "The point is to put humanity in crisis. Without helpless innocents I have no crisis. It rather defeats the purpose, wouldn't you agree?" Dr. Black produced his most sincere attempt at a smile. The expression left much to be desired.

At a fait rustle of paper behind him, Reginald whirled around, coattails spinning, and came face to face with... A piece of paper. With words on it. He allowed himself a moment or two to stare.

Then he began to laugh. "Well, my monochromatic friend, this is quite unexpected. Dorian, yes? Well then, I think we might just-" Regrettably, Reginald was cut off by his original adversary. It seemed their little discussion was not quite over yet.

Indeed, this one was quite contrary, thinking that Reginald was lucky even to be alive. How amusing.

"mutants aside, you are lucky humans haven't filled you with lead."

Yes, that one was particularly amusing. "Indeed, I still stand. And that rather proves my point, doesn't it? Even if there are a few weapons in this room, concealed in coat or purse or what have you, none have been turned on me. And how many here, do you think would have said they would shoot me now had I asked at the beginning of my little performance? Besides, I have less to fear from bullets than most of them do."

And then, his interlocutor did something that stirred Reginald's old black heart. He recited those two little much loved aphorisms. Dr. Black had a platitude of his own, of course. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. "Is not this blessing of good and censure of evil a monster in its own right? And you would do well to remember that as much as I am your monster, you are mine. Would it not be my evil shelter these innocents in their ignorance of self as much it is your good to shelter them from me? Perhaps, though, I shall dare to become a monster in my own eyes."

Dr. Black looked to the Louisiana Belle who had been pleading with him earlier. "My lady, though I am loath to admit it, perhaps you have a point. I have already found my goats among the sheep, after all, and it is not out of the question that a few of my little innocents might be allowed to head home early." The ring of keys appeared from within his arm and once again was hooked over one of his claws. Dr. Black took a step toward the door, pleased by the looks of hope, panic, and disbelief among his congregation. Unfortunately, the hall then went pitch black.

The darkness was as comforting as it was concerning. Dr. Black let go of any pretense of humanity, collapsing into a sleek black tangle and wriggling out of his former attire like a discarded skin. He did, however, slide a few of his tendrils through the sleeves of his tailcoat, and kept several limbs coiled around the hilt of his sword. It reminded him slightly of midnight library escapades when he was very young.

With a stray tentacle the doctor pressed the keys into the hand of his silent accomplice, expecting that he himself would soon be afflicted with plenty of unwanted attention. Reginald's eyes were gone, of course, but he attempted to resume his crawl toward the mass of humanity at the back of the hall, seeking the cloud of heat seeping from the flesh of all the innocents gathered there.

Streak had heard enough. This dude was insane. He was going to prevent, as much as possible, this guy getting what he really wanted. The guy standing up to him, in the front, seemed to have bitten off more than he could chew when the sword was pointed in his face. This is usually the part where he would step in. Whether the other guy was a mutant or just some brave human it didn't matter. He sure didn't look confident enough to handle the sword in his face.

Just before Streak could really do anything the lights went out. It happened a little to quickly for him to really do anything; however, he steped out of the bench that he was sitting in earlier and into the main aisle in case the guy decided to run. He couldn't see anything but it sure would make sense for this guy to try to get out now. Why not save his own skin after he'd actually been confronted with some resistance rather than just fear of senseless people.

Streak's silver was completely encasing him now and he was ready for any type of attack that this guy might use to try and escape. It'd be a shame if he escaped and the blame for this little incident tried was put on someone else.