Kamaka's Response¶
From: Kamaka Hygiea, Phobos Station To: Lin Jeong, UMS Spice Road (in transit) Re: Munich article / "The Leonidas Incident" Timestamp: ~6 hours after receipt
Lin,
I read the article. Then I read it again. Then I broke a mug.
You caught it. "The Leonidas Incident." Like it's a category, not a crime. Like what happened to Alex was a weather event and not someone trying to destroy a man's mind.
I pulled the public record. Here's what was released:
Professor Alexandros Leonidas, University of Mare Serenitatis, was hospitalized following what university officials described as "a neurological event of unknown origin." Professor Leonidas is expected to make a full recovery. The university has declined further comment pending an ongoing investigation.
That's it. That's the entire public statement. "Neurological event of unknown origin." No mention of Talent. No mention of an attack. No mention of zerkers. The university clamped down hard and Fleet backed them — they didn't want a panic.
So here's my question and it's the same as yours: when the Terran First manifesto says "the Leonidas incident" proves that "Talents are weapons that can be turned against us at any moment" — what do they think happened?
Because the public record describes a medical event. Not a weapon. Not a Talent crisis. A professor had a neurological episode. You don't bomb a children's counseling center over a professor's hospital visit.
Unless you expected a different story.
Unless you were told that Alexandros Leonidas — the most famous kinetic in the solar system — was going to lose control. That the beloved professor was going to become proof that no Talent is safe. That the "Leonidas incident" was going to be a K8 kinetic tearing apart a university campus.
That story would have justified a manifesto. That story would have justified a bombing.
But that story didn't happen. Because someone intervened. And whoever wrote that manifesto didn't adapt fast enough.
Here's what I'm going to do.
Phase 1: The Flip.
I'm going to make "the Leonidas Incident" famous — but MY version. The real one. The one where a beloved professor, a gentle man who has spent his career sharing alien archaeology with the public, was attacked. Where someone tried to destroy his mind. Where he is a victim, not a threat.
Every time anyone says "the Leonidas incident," I want people to think of a kind old man in a hospital bed, not a dangerous kinetic.
I have contacts at Belt Independent, Luna Broadcasting, and two freelancers at UEF News Service who owe me. I can get opinion pieces placed within 48 hours.
Phase 2: The Question.
Once the flip is established, I drop the question publicly: "How did Terran First know to reference a private medical event? Who told them what happened to Professor Leonidas — and more importantly, who told them to expect something worse?"
I'm not going to answer it. I'm just going to ask it. Loudly. On every platform I can reach. Let people sit with it. Let the journalists chase it.
Phase 3: The Girl.
The fourteen-year-old empath who was hospitalized. I'm going to find her family — with their consent ONLY, I'm not a monster — and if they're willing, I'm going to put a face on what Terran First actually did. They didn't attack Talent. They attacked a child. Who was going to her first counseling session. To learn how to handle something she didn't ask for.
That's the story. Not policy. Not politics. A kid in a hospital.
Lin, the advance-knowledge thing bothers me. Whoever wrote that manifesto wasn't reacting to events. They were expecting events. The bomb was planted before the "Leonidas incident" was supposed to become the "Leonidas incident." Someone is manufacturing crises and pre-positioning the narrative to exploit them.
This is bigger than one journalist and one bombing.
I'll have the first opinion pieces placed before you reach Ceres. Tell me what you find there.
And tell Alex I'm thinking about him.
— K