Editing John Fitzhugh (section)

==Background==



The dynamic of the art colony was art should inspire, uplift, and ignite the soul. Unfortunately, John could not find the proper medium which would stir his being to the heights that were promised to him. He was smart and good with his hands, but it all seemed rather dull to him. When he came of age, he left the colony and went to the capital.

He found no muse to lift his soul, just the tedium of jobs which had no divine spark. Jobs would last weeks, perhaps months if credits were needed, but it would always end in a search for that elusive promise of an almost divine moment. When not working, John would go to museums, plays, lectures, or any gathering of people to see if within a crowd his answer could be found.

One night, John entered an after hours casino to evade a furious storm. He watched the games with interest as he noticed the fervor of the gamblers and wondered if gambling held the same promise as art. As the night wore on, it was obvious that the house would always win. The strange thing was that some games skewed the possibility of statistical probability in the house's favor. After a week of observation and investigation, John learned that these games were rigged and could be made to pay out or cause losses by various means. A few days later, using equipment that he built and designed, John had a winning streak that not only defied luck...but also the code commands being sent by the pit boss who was trying to make John lose his new fortune.

After collecting his winnings, John was "invited" to the casino's manager office to discuss how he should invest his winning with the casino. John at that point produced evidence of the rigged games and informed the manager of his plans to inform the local news, law, and the real owner of the casino.

"Is it really worth hurting me for 10,000 credits? If I don't send the delay code, all that information goes to the news, cops, and Mr. Donallo? The first two... you can probably handle, but Donallo will probably take a dim view of this..and you know how he treats employees who have failed him..."

John received a beating, but he kept the 10k in credits when it was found that he would not tell about the release code or the holes in the casino's security.

John finally had found something to inspire him - He had found a problem - designed a solution and then carried the answer to a profitable finish. The credits were almost a secondary goal at best. Something had inspired him to work hard to reach a desired end. It may have not been art, but it was something he liked...

As the years progressed, John continued to work in his new medium of expression: crime. He never entertained the more violent crimes because they were wasteful, had low chances of profit, and brought too much attention to the criminals who indulged in such vulgar activities. John did realize that violence could be needed to protect himself and any partners he may have during any particular operation. He learned to shoot with some skill and tried to develop his physical skills.

As time progressed, John started to receive less personal returns on newer pieces of his art - the credits were still impressive and the lifestyle provided had its points, but the light of creation was being dimmed by a feeling of repeated concepts and displays.

What to do? For awhile, he involved himself in various art museums - helping to obtain rare pieces of art, sponsoring art appreciation societies, hosting fundraisers - but the role didn't have the rush of his art.

It was during this time, that he was called upon to host a fundraiser for refugees from a border war on a planet in a nearby system. It was to be a night of drinking, dancing, and a silent auction of donated art and artifacts. During preparations for the auction, John discover that a series of shell organizations would be diverting funds to a minor noble who had been selling weapons to both sides of the border war. Sending the information to a local news organization, John caused the minor noble's family to disinherit her from her clan. For his tireless work on behalf of the refugees, John was awarded and recognized as a city patron.

John had withdrew from his public life and began to plan his steps for his future. Although, it appeared that others had designs for him as well:

"Wake up, Mr. Fitzhugh...we need your full attention and can't have you be blurry eyed and sleep addled!"

John snapped up in his bed and made a quick survey of his apartment. Everything seemed to be in place and there was no sign of intruders. The only activity was the entertainment screen across from his bed which was flickering with a late night sales vid.

"What? Who is this?"

"Ah, I can see why that lightning wit of yours has made you a star on the society circuit lately...We need to talk about your well intended, but ham handed interference in the Abosh Affair. Your stunt has interrupted a year long investigation which was trying to find answers to bigger questions..."

"You're using a closed frequency comm beam to override my screen's security protocols..."

"Yes, John..we are! I believe you've done the same in your career... In fact, I think you used a variation of this at Club Fortuna when first starting ..Yes? Enough of old times, we were investigating the movement of weapons which were finding themselves in that border war. Prototype weapons are being used by both sides..weapons that have some very terrifying results. Whoever is doing this is using the war as both a test facility and sales platform. We need someone to investigate...that someone is to be you...John"

" Not interested...you can't make me.."

"John..John...we can make anyone do anything we want. We could borrow a page from your technique and release your true history to the public?" Nothing to say about that? Hmmmmm...think of the disdain, legal problems, and retribution it will cause you.....or.....your parents? Hugh and Moira..correct? Hugh Fitzhugh? Really...did your grandfather lose a bet? Did you know that they have split again? It appears your father has a wandering eye..."

"At least I know who my father is..."

"Charming jest...John. All those things and more can or will happen unless you work for us. We will see that you are part of a fact-finding task force looking into the Abosh problem. You will be our stalking horse, while you stumble about our organization will use the diversion to investigate the origins of the prototype weapons. We will be sending you instructions on where to be tomorrow..."

The screen then dropped into darkness and John began to plan