Prometheus Institute - 1.5 'They Came From The Stars'

A strange session today. We haven’t played for over three months and it shows in a game which really needs everyone to be on the same page. We spent a fair while just re-acquainting  ourselves with the game and the continuity and then kicked off.

The game opened with the new Promethean base being revealed, a floating (late flying) city base in international waters off the US coast. Belonging to the Thornes and dubbed ‘Olympus’ by the media, this is the new base of the Prometheus Institute after it has detached from the US government. Seth is on Olympus, doing PR work with the world press. Ares is in New York, around the financial district. Thomas is at his trailer with the Lone Gunmen, talking about aliens and Joshua is on the BBC being interviewed by Dimbleby whilst the UN discuss his request to become a UN protectorate. Many short snappy things occurred and by the end of it…

The UN were unable to offer the Prometheans protected status. The US launched a military strike on Olympus which was foiled by Seth and Ares had instituted a plan to bring down the US economy using his army of mind-controlling, time-manipulating Genius clones.

A massive emotional clash between Joshua and Professor Thorne, where the Professor confronts Joshua with all of the things that have gone wrong since he took over. The Professor doesn’t manage to win back control of the whole shebang, but as a complication he activates a safety program which makes like difficult.

Joshua tries to get Jessie to tell him who made her the carrier of the genetic trigger antidote but she will not tell him – even after he tries very hard!

The Lone Gunman explains to Thomas exactly what his theory of the aliens is – that the government has alien material, that has been found around the world (crater in Russia, Black Forest in Germany, the Yucatan basin and Area 51) and has used this to splice alien DNA into humans to create Prometheans. Thomas scoffs at this, but the Gunman is very serious and challenges him to go to Area 51, break in and see for himself.

Thomas tries this but he is scanned, detected and captured …. By Mr Olivier, the erstwhile boss of BioMechanics. Thomas is shackled in power dampeners which stop his shadow powers and has to suffer a monologue of epic proportions as Olivier shows him the alien probe that has been the source of the material which created the US Prometheans. He explains the new plan for a super solider army based not on superhumans, or clones, but on lab-grown and educated superpowered zealots bent to the American cause. Thomas has heard enough and pops the dampeners with his Techopathy (silly Olivier had only stopped his Shadow powers) and kills Olivier with this own shadow. Sadly, in the fracas, a bullet goes off and the massive  alien crystal probe is released, burning a hole in the bunker roof and floating up into the atmosphere, casting a column of light into the skies.

Ares is struck down again by psychic premonition of alien spaceships moving through the solar system.  Concerned by this, he uses his time control powers to circumvent the security at the Pentagon and meet with The Man from the Government (aka Weapon II) to share the information. TMFTG reveals that he too has had the premonition, as have all of the other Ares around the planet. The aliens are coming and all TMFTG’s defences – the Prometheans and Project Ares – are either disbanded or out of action due to being altered and released into the wild! The Earth is defenceless. Ares suggested that they did not know whether the aliens were friend or foe? He suggests that a genius intellect could use the time powers of the various Ares to set up some sort of Einstein Rosen Bridge(or a wormhole, to the uninitiated) to have a glimpse of the future and see? This was agreed, although there were some worries about causality etc. TMFTG pledged to help

Ares returns to Olympus, requesting that all of his Ares clones return as well. When they arrive, they all see another glimpse of the alien ships, accelerating to Earth. Jessie is there too, helping load up more arriving depowered prometheans who have responded to the request of Joshua and Seth to use Olympus as a safe haven. Even the dying Masada has arrived.  Ares explains his plan to Joshua and he agrees to help, only to be interrupted by the ever annoying Professor Thorne … who agrees with the plan, turns the station back over to Joshua’s control and helps with the project – father and son working together at last. The bridge is opened and they see open warfare between the aliens and an army of re-empowered prometheans.

Meanwhile, Seth arrives to examine the source of the light and realising that he cannot stop it, he enters the light and feels instant peace and euphoria. He floats up into the skies, bathed in the light – like a God! He meets the alien fleet in the upper atmosphere, just as the probes are landing on Earth, disembarking hundreds of 20’ tall manga-armoured glowing white alien warriors with energy lances and massive gun gloves. In the light he meets their leader, a humanoid who looks his absolute double. A hand is extended to him and he realises this might be his … father? The pair descend in the column of light as the world looks on – invasion or conversion, imminent.