Sage's Questionnaire

It's not a town or a city, but it's a similar size. I live in a private section in a theme park, the one I helped my grandmother build in Canada. There are tunnels to the edge of the property, where you can take a local passenger train all over the area. If I can't get a direct personal lift at home, I can take that to the airport and go anywhere else I need to go from there. From my rooms I can go directly into the park, or to any of the 'hotels' (really guest quarters, since staying there is covered with the cost for being at the park long enough to need sleep), or to private passages only my grandmother and I can access.

My rooms are comfy, and other than just my personal stuff they include a small gym, a large pantry, and a dining area for company. I'd have a personal library, but that's already covered. There's three grades to that. The common library for permitted guests, the research library, and grandmother's personal library. She only allows myself and who she calls 'contractors' in there. Apparently she expects me to become one eventually, but won't tell me much.

I still can't make sense of her alchemy and enchanting books, maybe one day.

I get most of my money from grandmother, but not all. What I get myself I keep for myself, which honestly means I'm building a savings from that. She pays me for all my work at the park, as she has since she taught me how to use her gadgets and recruited me to help build. It went a lot faster with just the two of us and her building device than it ever would have with construction teams and non-magical equipment. Once we got everything in place, I mostly just design new effects and help oversee the stunt workers. Eventually I'll be overhauling the old effects, once they get old.

Apart from the generous pay from that (which honestly feels like having an allowance), I get money from movies made "up here" in Canada, and go to the US when I'm needed. I'm not the best effects designer out there, or the best stuntwoman, but if I don't know how to do anything I know how to steal from the best.

I don't really think much about what I spend money on, I already have easy access to most stuff. I guess most of it goes to travel and expendable stuff like food, or whatever else I need outside the park.

Well, it's just not safe out there. Even for an otherwise 'normal' person like me. If people knew I can move things without touching them, at the very least people would try to take advantage of me, and plenty of people would be scared. Even without knowing about any of the stranger stuff out there (I barely know any of it), they'd speculate about what Could exist.

I need to change that. Make it not just safe for people to come out, but encourage society at large to do more than tolerate us. Society needs to embrace our existence, just like they need to do with all minorities and disabilities. The real danger is the 'normal' people who think anyone who isn't them shouldn't even exist. We'll exist no matter how they feel, whether it's hate, fear, or jealousy.

No, I don't intend to kill or die for it, but not because I lack conviction. Because if a non-supernatural person dies on this, it would set everything back, and it's almost as bad to have a martyr. Martyrs just make the gulf between us larger.

I'd like to say all sorts of things that make for one specific event that put me on my path, but of all the interesting answers, only one really feels right. It's when I felt so sure that I could make a difference, I could do something beyond simple things like teaching, entertaining, or making people smile. (and believe me, smiles are so very important) What could I do? I could give people magic.

Stories, special effects, and not just disguising things to Feel like magic, but keep the wonder alive when they know how it's done. That's what's really special, and difficult. Stage magic is disappointing to most when they know how it's done, but theme park stuff can be fascinating at every step. When I first got fascinated with that myself, I told my grandmother, and she told me something that changed my life forever. She'd help me.

That's when I found out we're both different, and there are more like us. My perspective grew, I would bring mundane magic to the world, make things safe for real magic, and let everyone grow and build a better world.

There's Susan Mitchell, she's the head of the stunts department at the park. I think she's better than me at it, but technically I'm her supervisor. I followed my grandma's lead and picked someone who can manage herself.

Then there's the guy who keeps introducing me to amazing food, the head chef at the park David Harker. He really knows how to make anything taste amazing, especially if he already knows what you like. The biggest reason I prefer to eat park food is his recipes, so much tastier than the stuff I make for myself.

The other person most often in my life is of course my grandmother. I don't know what I'd do when she's gone someday, emotionally at least. Practically, I'd take over as head of the park. We maintain enough ownership to keep it from being taken over by corporate greed. Luckily, she's tough and ages, um.. gracefully.

I guess it was a normal childhood, I was girly enough to not be teased and enough of a tomboy that the boys treated me like another boy. I spent a lot of time alone at school, but liked to entertain the younger kids when I was out. My mom encouraged me to do things on my own, even though most of that was either climbing everything at the park, reading everything at the library, or buying stuff at the comic book store.

I never knew my dad, and grandmother didn't want my mom to work too much, so she picked up the slack financially. So mom worked while I was in school, and we had enough to pay for housekeeping and cooking. That's part of why other kids liked to visit. Sure, they liked my storytelling, and our playground of a backyard, but most of them never had that great of food at home. I think that's why mom preferred to hire culinary students.

I bet me taking care of little kids is why I get protective of people now.

Nope, that's not something I have ever wanted to focus on. There's so much else to do in the world, I wouldn't have time for it if I spent that on romance. Sex feels like a bit of a waste too, but I'm really not sure if I'm asexual or just don't want the sweaty sticky mess. I'll get sweaty and/or sticky doing stunts instead, they're more exhilarating.

I don't know what else to say about it, not even sure why anyone would want to know.

Besides, romantic partners just cause trouble for superheroes. Not that I'm one, I just expect I'll make the same sort of enemies that they do.

I guess I have most of the same ordinary fears as anyone. Things like failing at whatever you're doing, being abandoned, left behind, rejected, etc. These don't bug me really, just things I'd rather not happen. I'm more bothered by things like being tortured, seeing people I care about tortured, being forced to murder someone even in self defense.

So what really bothers me? Well... I want the world to be more accepting of people who are different in the same ways myself and my grandmother are, but I also know that there are also terrifying things out there that most people don't know about. If they don't know the difference, they can't be trusted to tell which is which. This means people like me have to defend people like them, without them knowing we're doing it. That's another big hurdle in getting open acceptance in the world, which has to come before they can ever embrace people like us. Even once they know what exists and how to tell the difference, most of them will depend on us to keep them safe. Keeping them safe in the open may not be any harder than now, and it might get them to want us around, but if any of us falls or fails once we get there? Everything might fall apart completely. Witch hunts all over again, but actual witches this time, and more than just witches.

I'm not sure yet how to get to the point where we'll be protecting them in the open yet, but I know it'll be worth trying, even with the possibility for things to get far worse than they are now.

I don't really get particularly attached to physical objects, not the kind you can hold or drive or keep in your home. If you don't get emotional about a specific thing, they can be replaced. My most prized possession is the park. Yes, I love living there. Walking around in the garden, always having new food to try, putting on exciting shows with stunts, laser, water, and so on. I also love reading grandmother's books, though I'm not sure if I'll ever be an alchemist like her. Designing new rides and attractions is also something I love doing.

But... there's one thing about it that I love more than all that. The potential to drive the imagination and sense of wonder in children, and get adults back to that mindset if they've lost it. The more they can imagine, the more they can do to change the world for the better, and the better they can understand what they don't know about yet. Yeah, it's true, the biggest reason I love the park is that it can guide the future and make a better world, for normal humans and everyone else.

Oh my, this is the perfect time for this question, everything outside of contracts has been flipped upside down. Grandmother died, the park closed, I was given a new home and expected to move all my things there from both my Vancouver apartment and my rooms at the park. At least it's closer to Vancouver, maybe I can still maintain movie work somehow. It's not directly between the park and the city, but somewhere in the middle. New responsibilities are sure to grow from that, and from visits to the refuge the park has become. Tuppence told me that I can use her references while away, all I have to do is contact her. Between her and Acacia, I won't be needed at the refuge, not as much as before at least.

So, biggest problem? Adjusting to all of these changes.

With grandmother's secrecy, there will definitely be plenty more to learn about that she never told me.

Now that I'm sleeping at the estate? I'm trying to get into a pattern, but it's not easy since I don't have all my things here yet. This is my second night sleeping here, but I expect that I'll wake and do what I did this morning. Take a deep breath, stretch, then let out a quiet sigh. Sit up, pull back the curtains on the antique bed with new sheets and mattress, then slide out of bed into the slippers I left for myself.

Then I'll straighten my nightgown, wash my face from the basin, and brush my hair. Then it's time for breakfast. With the park closed David was out of a job along with everyone else. Sure, just like Susan, they all had glowing references from my grandmother and myself. Everyone also received enough money to cover their bills for three months. I didn't want to lose his friendship or his cooking skills, so now he's the first person I see each morning. I'm glad he's aroace, or this could get extra awkward.

After breakfast, I'll look over any messages from the Vancouver studios as well as any from the refuge. Maybe not every morning in the future, but for now I'll be calling Tuppence right after that. Then I'll get dressed.

Since I never know when a harbinger will call, I'll be keeping my gear nearby whatever happens, even if I head out to the city for the day.