SW10/WWW: Powernaut 2024 #1-5: World's Fair!

[Scott Eiler]

heh, I am for the very first time working on a Powernaut comic series 
set in the present age!  (The last time I came even close to that, was 
Powernaut 2011 which I published in 2012.)  We can only dream of living 
in Power City 2024, but I can still share it.  And this is where new 
guest stars come in - including that new one in the public domain.

http://eilertech.com/stories/powernaut/2024.htm

I envision this series being published in its home universe, as a 
pamphlet.  I'm not sure how to explain #5 in that context, but I'll 
probably figure out later.  For now, I've buried it behind one of those 
authentic boring text essays which schoolchildren of my era will 
remember from comic books *and* from motivational pamphlets in school. 
But if you follow the link from #4, you can skip the TL;DR.  In case you 
*want* to read it, here it is.  (Go see the web page for links to 
further content.)

...

Bonus Section: Description by Dr. Philip Hanover, "Professor" Powernaut! 
What We're Building

Hello, readers. What we're building, is a community where superheroes 
have input, but so does everyone. These autobiographies may help show how.

-    Peace Officer James Baldrie is native to Power City. He loves the 
idea that police are here to help, and he tries to live that out.

-    Paula Poderr (Paula Power) has been a Powernaut since early days. 
(A woman never reveals her age!) She's the math teacher at Power School.

-    Jeffrey Goldblatt (Powernaut 1987) was both a Powernaut, and an 
actor portraying the Powernaut! Now he teaches drama and liberal arts at 
Power School.

-    The Powernaut of 2005 ("Coach Powernaut") loves being a Powernaut!

-    Paulie Poderr is holding at zero superhuman powers, but he just 
can't escape the legacy of Power School! He's on staff now, traveling 
around the country to act as liaison. He loves discovering new coffee shops.

-    Hilari Hosea Autonomus, Candy Coach, has adjusted to her power 
level within the superhuman community. She's now a counselor to students 
within the Power School, particularly some whom are "lower-powered".

-    Megaphone honors his father's memory. The elder Megaphone gave back 
his advanced future technology - and then died of disease which had been 
eradicated by his future time. Today's Megaphone continues the 
tradition, with the finest modern technology Power City has. For 
instance, he has a jet pack!

-    Amy Larson, Intensity, is now a fitness trainer, in the tradition 
of her Coach Powernaut. She is assistant coach in Power School now!

-    Otto Storch, Zorch, accepts his power, and tries to use it 
responsibly. He works with the Power City electrical company, to quickly 
identify any power outages.

-    The Invisible Toledo Torpedo works in the "Free Resource" section 
of the city, operating a café!

-    Capture is now floor manager in a casino, on the "Shops" level. 
He's also trusted with some Power City resources.

-    Pizza Fu! (statement from his mentor Doctor Grace Fu) My protégé 
Pizza Fu has become young alongside me, and matured alongside me. He 
embraces his role as a trainer to both old species and new. He is an 
employee of the Power City Peace Officers, to train canine officers. He 
also consults with me on some of my projects with new species. I credit 
him with the training of Power City's new steamboat pilot. But he still 
loves treats.

-    The Vampire Jane enjoys being part of the history of vampires at 
Power School! The Vampire Rose got here before me. She went back to the 
vampire world, well adjusted to humankind. My father Leo the Pirate 
Vampire King wanted me to follow where she led. I've graduated, and I'm 
now on staff to help adjust other vampires to human society!

-    I, Hipolyta, am daughter to the legendary Zenobia. I have well and 
truly graduated from our beloved Power School. Now I carry on for my 
mother, in mobilizing females for power in our city and throughout the 
world.

As for the architecture... When Power City was founded, it went for a 
classic look, full of iconic skyscrapers. Those can actually be designed 
as arcologies, which bring humanity together to receive essential 
services with much less impact than sprawling suburban architecture. 
Some suburbs exist up the cliff from us... but I have convinced 
Powernauts to not live there. We live in and around the Power School 
grounds, for public safety and for communion with the students.

As for the technology...

-    Cracking carbon dioxide for energy may sound outlandish. But 
Ellipsis technology entered open source many years ago, and it's part of 
our world now. It is based upon the total conversion of matter to 
energy. Here in Power City, we restrict that to converting excess carbon 
from the atmosphere into energy. That is more than sufficient to meet 
our energy needs.

-    Hydroelectric power is a secondary source for us now. We're 
discussing demolition of the Power City dam, so as not to impede the 
salmon migrations... but we find, a well-crafted fish ladder can get 
around that obstacle. Besides, there's quite a demand for river 
navigation which the dam (and its locks) makes possible.

-    We are still exploring the full power that can be drawn from the 
Earth's magnetic field. But in the past, that has been enough to propel 
a small interstellar spacecraft to Earth orbit. I was part of its crew 
in 2014.

-    Windmills are often mentioned as an alternative energy source. We 
admit the possibility, but we also admit that restricting the winds 
along our Columbia Gorge might have ecological impacts. Windsurfers 
might also miss the high winds.

People are offering incredible designs for the use of Power City's 
carbon fiber technology. I've even seen a proposal for building a 
mountain-sized dehumidifying tower in Florida to ward off hurricanes. 
Personally, I feel that would be an incredibly bad idea. But I was 
around in 1968, when humanity couldn't agree on anything. It's nice to 
know that humanity can now put out the big ideas, and still reasonably 
decide about them.

I can't comment as an expert on the bio-technology, but I've seen the 
benefits. It's not just Pizza Fu or Willie the Steamboat Pilot; there're 
low-level adaptations for animals to meet Earth's changing climate as we 
approach a planetary population of five billion humans.

Overall, I can say that technology is our friend in Power City. Welcome, 
visitors!

-- 
-- (signed) Scott Eiler  8{D> ------ http://www.eilertech.com/ -------

"Your Royal Highness, instead of devoting yourself exclusively
to Minerva, should, instead, rather offer sacrifice at the altars
of Bacchus, Orpheus, Venus, and Morpheus."

- Advice to Prince Duarte of Portugal.  From "The golden age of
Prince Henry the Navigator", by Joaquim Pedro Oliveira Martins.
Coming soon to Project Gutenberg.