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Daphne Myung: Thank you for joining us here today, Mr. Carter.
Caestus Pax: My pleasure, Daphne. And please, it's just "Pax."
Myung: Very well...Pax. (audience chuckles) Which brings me to my first question — why are you so gun-shy about your baseline name? You don't maintain a secret identity, and there's nothing odd about "John Carter." It's certainly not as bad as "Daphne Myung."
(audience laughs)
Pax: Well, "John Carter" is also the name of an Edgar Rice Burroughs character, the hero of the Barsoom stories.
Myung: "Barsoom?"
Pax: Mars, as envisioned by the creator of Tarzan in the early 20th century. John Carter, the "Warlord of Mars," was transported to the red planet by an unknown force, where he fought all sorts of tyrants and monsters and such. Actually, I really enjoyed the stories as a kid. It may even have affected my eruption — while nowhere near my level, Burroughs' character was fantastically strong on Mars due to its lighter gravity.
Myung: Sounds familiar.
(chuckles)
Pax: Yes, well, that was all well and good until a kid who hated my guts found out about the Barsoom stories. For years, I was "that Martian kid."
Myung: Caestus Pax, being teased by bullies? Hard to imagine.
Pax: Yeah, well, Mal or no Mal, I'm as human as the next guy. I've always been in good shape, but I was never exactly a social butterfly. I could've pounded the kids that teased me, sure, but what would that have accomplished?
Myung: Sounds like you started early.
Pax: Beg pardon?
Myung: Already being noble.
(chuckles)
Pax: (shrugs) Not really. I would've been grounded to this day if I pulled something like that. They knew that, of course; one thing I've had hammered home in this line of work is that the more of a bully someone is, the more of a coward they probably are. I'm sure you've noticed how fast Geryon bolts whenever he has to fight other novas.
(laughs)
Myung: (chuckling) Ahem. Moving on...
(more laughter)
Myung: Could you elaborate on your life prior to your eruption? Despite the lack of any attempt to make your past secret, all anyone really knows about you is that you served in the military and worked in construction.
Pax: Well, that's because there isn't much else to tell. My grandparents were among the founding members of the Aeon Society —
Myung: Beg pardon?!
(awed muttering in the audience)
Pax: -ahem- My father's parents, Jack Carter and Jane Harkness, were charter members of the New York branch of the Aeon Society for "Gentlemen." My grandfather was and is a brilliant inventor; my grandmother is a mystic, with abilities she attributes to mental talents and spirit allies. I can tell you that I've seen her do "impossible" things, and that she is categorically not a nova.
Myung: Wow. So...she can do magic?
Pax: Well, I wouldn't call it that. Psychic phenomena unrelated to quantum powers have been all but proven. (smiles) On the other hand, that's exactly what Sam says it is, and who am I to argue?
(nervous chuckles)
Myung: ...not much to tell, huh?
(laughter)
Pax: (smiles again) Not really, no. It's not like we had talking gorillas or elves visiting the house, or nazi ubermenschen attacking every week. My life before Ops was pretty boring, actually.
Pax: My father, you see, had faced...pressure as a boy. That's a lot to live up to, after all.
Myung: I can imagine.
Pax: (nods) So, he became determined to live a "normal" life. Not that he wasted his talents, mind you. He became a federal agent working in the ATF division — Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. Actually chased down a bootlegger or three.
(laughter)
Myung: And your mother?
Pax: She was a farm girl, and never grew out of it. Life as a farmer appealed to Dad, and now you know why I'm just "a country boy from Kentucky."
(laughter)
Myung: (chuckling) Saying that you are "just" anything hardly seems accurate. You obviously had interests other than farming.
Pax: (shrugs) Just because a kid's from the sticks doesn't mean he can't get a good education. Dad may not have liked all the "crazy supernatural stuff" that his parents got involved in, but he wanted to make sure my horizons were as broad as they could be. I read writers from Kipling to Heinlein, studied basic mechanics and learned Einstein's theories, learned to shoot a gun, skin a rabbit, do calculus, analyze Voltaire and tell the difference between Jeffersonian and Hamiltonian politics.
Myung: That must have been some farm.
(chuckles)
Myung: So, how did you end up in a special operations unit?
Pax: Well, I also read some of the pulps with the Aeon Society in them. I didn't believe in living dinosaurs or lost cities, of course, but the idea of going out into the world and making a difference with my own two hands really appealed to me. My dad wasn't exactly ecstatic, but it was better than going into the Aeon Society as far as he was concerned.
Myung: And your mother?
Pax: (pause) My mother died when I was 14. Drunk driver. She was crossing the street.
(silence)
Myung: I'm so sorry.
Pax: Me too. But it's been a long time now. Time heals all wounds — and as Heinlein added, "wounds all heels." If the man who hit her is still alive, he's still in jail. Anyway, I went into the service. My performance was adequate enough for me to be considered for special operations.
Training for special operations makes boot camp look like a vacation, but it was what I wanted. Looking back on it all, I can't imagine why. But I was determined. If nothing else, I've always been pretty good at being determined.
(chuckles)
Myung: I'm sure there's a great deal you can't tell us about that time, but can you give us a feel for what your life was like back then?
Pax: Oh, I don't mind talking about the lifestyle. There wasn't one.
(laughter)
Pax: You basically spend your life in a barracks or a tent and wait to go to some armpit of a country, ruled by a petty tyrant, and work to either support him or weaken him, depending on which side he's on. A lot of it's blurred together, missions of life, missions of death. I got sick of it pretty fast. There were just enough assignments where we were the good guys to keep me sane. Anti-terrorist stuff, mostly, hostage rescue and things like that.
Myung: Your resignation is semi-legendary, even given your nova exploits. Can you give us any details on that?
Pax: ...only that the mission in question had been compromised from the beginning. I can't go into too many details, but I will say that one of the people under my command had been assigned as a backup, and he disobeyed my orders in completing the assignment. It was a mess.
Myung: And you just walked away?
Pax: It was...a bit more complicated than that, but I decided I was so sick of what had been done that I didn't mind using a little family influence. I never had before, and God willing I'll never have to again. But I was given an honorable discharge, and for the first time in my life I didn't know what to do with myself.
Myung: That didn't last long, though, did it?
Pax: (chuckles) No, no, I suppose it didn't. It didn't take me long to decide that I wanted to be a part of building something. I have a small talent for sculpture, but art has always been a hobby for me, not a vocation. I needed to build something useful. So I went into construction.
Myung: And made foreman in less than a year, according to your work history.
Pax: Ah, *ahem* I was motivated. I preferred working on housing, particularly low-income apartment buildings, but as long as I was working on something that would last, I was happy. I'd had enough of destruction.
Myung: And then there was N-Day.
Pax: Oh, yes. N-Day. It was quite a sight, I can tell you that. A tiny second sun in the middle of the day, like some sort of perverse star of Bethlehem. We all stopped and stared. And then, well, you know what happened next.
Myung: Yes, and no. What was it like, not knowing what a nova was, to be holding a man up in mid-air?
Pax: Well, I was a bit better prepared than most, I think, but even in grandpa's day men didn't fly without wings or rockets. I was shocked. It was hard to grasp what I'd done, Rashoud facilties were months away, and even as a newly-erupted nova I was absurdly powerful. I spent a little time just coming to grips with my newfound powers, making sure I wouldn't accidentally shatter someone by touching them. As soon as I determined that I wasn't a danger just by being around people, I went to the Aeon Society.
Myung: How did they react?
Pax: To N-Day or to me? Actually, to answer both questions, N-Day was a nightmare for them at first. The whole purpose of the Aeon Society is to understand human potential, and come to an understanding of it — gradually. For them, N-Day was kind of like studying Model T's, only to find out that someone just handed out a thousand Formula One racers to people who'd never even seen a car before. On the other hand, you could just about feel the relief when they found out one of the most powerful novas alive was someone with connections to the society.
Myung: That must have been a lot of pressure.
Pax: Well, yes. But I was needed, and to be perfectly honest, while I've never been like Quasar with his superheroes, being a nova was...exhilarating. And even discounting my early training, my mental adaptations allowed me to handle the pressure more easily.
Myung: Weren't you reluctant to take the reins of Team Tomorrow at first, however?
Pax: Oh, absolutely. My experiences in Delta Force had soured me on combat in general and leadership in particular. But Team Tomorrow was to be mine, lock, stock and novas. I would have the authority to run the team as I saw fit. I accepted their initial framework at the outset, though, and for that I take full responsibility.
Myung: I don't understand.
Pax: We should have waited for the team to grow, formed the structure on a more solid foundation. Team Tomorrow was always a multi-purpose unit, but many members' understanding of many of its duties were dubious. I was hardly the best choice for public relations at the time, Quasar didn't know the first thing about construction, and poor Hiram really didn't have much of a grasp of what nova combat could be like.
Myung: You can't blame yourself. How could anyone have known?
Pax: The evidence was there, if we'd known where to look. I'm just glad that we didn't lose anyone else in those early days. It was...a heady time, at first.
Myung: Certainly, though, the current team can give you some of that "heady" feeling?
Pax: Oh yes, certainly. But we lost a certain amount of innocence when Hiram died.
Myung: Even you?
Pax: Even me. You had to know him, him and Quasar and Jen. Especially Jen. They were infectious, idealistic, heroic. I guess I wanted to believe that things would be different. We all did.
Myung: But they are different now. The world is so much better of a place than we could have ever imagined twelve years ago.
Pax: Oh yes. I agree completely. The team may have lost its innocence with Hiram, but they pulled together more completely than I could have dared hope. Between our reorganization and the Kashmir victory, things really began to turn around. And of course, today, well...I can't imagine serving with a finer group of men and women.
Myung: What about the Elite question?
Pax: Oh, don't get me wrong, there's still a lot of bad blood. Guggie and Quasar were especially close to Hiram, and they both get rather enthusiastic when they get the chance to mix it up with DeVries guns-for-hire. Then again, all of us old-timers do. But there isn't a T2Mer who can't put their feelings aside when needed.
Myung: Tell us about Team Tomorrow, as it is — er, today.
(chuckles)
Pax: Well, as you know, Daphne, there are four core teams spread out around the world. Each is staffed with some of the most powerful and versatile novas known. Their primary job, really, is to coordinate nova resources and allies, but of course there isn't one of them who won't get their hands dirty as necessary. The so-called "Auxiliary," however, is the backbone of the team. Easily larger than the four core teams combined, the Auxiliaries go where they're needed, when they're needed.
Myung: I thought the Auxiliaries were T2Mers in training.
Pax: Oh, they are, for the most part. In many ways, none of us ever stop training. And there is a specific Auxiliary unit that is the yearly T2M "class" that Quasar teaches. But there are many Auxiliary novas and teams that serve in a number of capacities. The one requirement is that they be ready and able to oppose novas who want to abuse their powers. Perhaps the other teams would be better called "specialists."
Myung: Could you give us a few quick impressions of your fellow Tomorrowites, Pax?
Pax: Gladly.
Myung: Figment.
Pax: Laughter. Cunning. Half the team says she should change her name to "Tinkerbell." Disney-Apple probably has the lawsuit all written up, though.
(chuckles)
Pax: A loyal teammate and a valued friend and ally.
Myung: Lightning.
Pax: My best friend, not counting Sam of course. A great teammate. He's the speed and I'm the muscle. Partner and wingman.
Myung: Slider.
Pax: Oh, now that's cheating.
(chuckles)
Pax: Irrepresible. Fun. No one's ever around her enough. But utterly reliable in the clutch. The sister I never had, right down to driving me crazy. I mean...Andre Corbin?
(laughter)
Myung: Quasar.
Pax: Mother Hen.
(laughter)
Pax: Sorry, Q. I couldn't resist. The Auxiliary kids call him that — except when he's saving their butts. He's saved as many lives drilling good sense into his students as he has with his force field. The rock of Team Tomorrow.
Myung: Psyche.
Pax: (pause) Fair enough. It was difficult, learning that she'd been working for Proteus for as long as she had. But she was duped as much as the rest of us, perhaps moreso. I still trust her.
Myung: With your mind?
Pax: With my life.
Myung: Fair enough. Geisha.
Pax: You have to ask?
(laughter)
Pax: Charm incarnate. Half the team's in love with her. Hell, half the world is in love with her. Grace and nobility given form. A true paragon.
Myung: Skew.
Pax: Underestimated talent. Courage, passion and fire in a leather jacket. And he can play one mean guitar.
(chuckles)
Myung: Ana Graca.
Pax: Devotion. Ana spends about half her free time in activist work. Free spirit.
Myung: Songbird.
Pax: (pause) And I thought you were cheating with Slider!
(laughter)
Pax: What can I say? Take everything that's wonderful about Figment, Jen, and Ichiko, blend well, add spice, throw in a dash of fierce individualism, and mix well. Then give her the voice of a goddess. Oh, and I have to say this for Sam's sake — she is not a goddess. You're welcome, Sam.
(laughter)
Pax: Meeting Samantha is the best thing that's ever happened to me — and that's counting eruption. I never imagined myself settling down, or even being particularly romantic, to be honest. Of course, we've been thrust into a great many trials together, and I couldn't ask for anyone better to watch my back. But obviously, our relationship has gone far beyond simple professional respect.
Myung: I understand you were going to resign as leader of Team Tomorrow as a result of your relationship?
Pax: Yes. I thought it inappropriate to be in a position of authority over someone with whom I have a romantic relationship, but after long talks with Samantha, Director Laragiome, and Mr. Mercer, the situation was resolved.
Myung: You certainly sound happy.
Pax: Oh yes. Never happier. I didn't believe in fate, or "true love," or any other such cliches. Now? Our souls are...twined together. I can't describe it any other way. If ancient poets and master artisans can't do the feeling justice, then how can I express it?
Myung: You mentioned sculpture?
Pax: (scoffs) It's something I do to relax.
Myung: I'm sure our audience would be forgiving.
(applause)
Pax: Well...all right. Sam, I apologize in advance. If there's some clay or metal in the studio — well. You do come prepared, Ms. Myung.
Myung: (smiles) Part of the job, Pax.
(pause)
(gasps of awe)
Myung: Oh. My. God.
Pax: Something I've been toying with in my head for a while. The spiralling shape that Sam and I are emerging from represents a sort of essential self. That we're holding hands on one end and extending them upward with the other, we fly like that sometimes.
Myung: Dabbler. Uh-huh. Oh, thank god we had a few minutes left. I'm afraid there's just enough time for one more question, though. This is your first truly in-depth interview. Why the sudden change of heart?
Pax: A change of "heart" is rather accurate, Daphne. A lot of things change when a man becomes a husband and father. I thought it was time, especially given how turbulent the last two years have been, that I let people see me as a human man. Not some god, avenging angel, quantum monster, creature of the devil, or even a walking ego, but a man. I've been given many gifts in this life, and I'd like to think I've found ways to give something back. Ultimately, though, it's just about taking the life I've been given and doing the best I can with it. In that, I'm no different than anyone watching your show. I just wanted people to see that.
Myung: Well, you've certainly succeeded. And if I may say so, you are an extraordinary man, quantum powers or no. Caestus Pax, thank you for joining us.
Pax: My pleasure.
(rousing applause)
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