Entry 4: Rebirth

       I have harnessed the power of radiation to restore light and life to the city, and felt its warmth beneath my hands.

     I have unleashed the atomic fires that scoured the world of the 97%, and been destroyed by its embrace.

     There was no pain when we triggered the device. Just a white light, consuming everything, as for an instant I became one with the background radiation. An instant in which I was united with everything.

     I am reborn.

     I am creator and destroyer. I understand, now, the meaning of the old proverb. The meaning of the words that Galton carved upon his mask. Creation and destruction; two sides of the same coin, of divinity itself, the two sides of what men call the Glow. And I have embraced both.

     He was right, when he said that no-one else would truly understand me, that the fools of the city would fear my knowledge, would stand against me to prevent the creation of the new world I would build. He was wrong, though, in that he thought this would matter.

     I do not need their validation. I do not need their approval. If they would stop me, let them do it with blood -- and they will find that I'm no easy prey. They know what I am now. I can give them power and life... or I can bring them destruction.

     I am Maximus Capacity.

    And I will change the world.

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EUREKA!

Entry 3: The RTG Device

"Why don't you have lights?" 

"The Oil Barons shut off the power." 

"Why haven't you used your science to fix it?"

     The question kept me up all night, after the trade gathering. I was embarassed, at first.

     Then I was angry. How dare this Aggie bitch presume to talk about our troubles?

     With time has come clarity; I was angry at myself for not accomplishing this, embarassed that another had commented upon it. I am the proper target of those feelings. And there is only one way to deal with this.

     Over a year ago, a star fell from the sky. Not a star, a Sat-Light, one of those enigmatic machines of the oldcestors that orbit our world for purposes we can no longer understand. I tore the radioactive power core from the wreckage as the dead were drawn for miles to the crash; I nearly died buried beneath the hungry dead, and I would have if not for Tex. But I never let go. Not once.

     I have a year's of notes spread across my desk regarding this 'RTG Device'. A year's worth of research, of minor experimentation. The burns on my skin, the days of sickness from exposure, have been worth it. The knowledge I have gained of radiation from this device and other research has been significant - but I know it's only a drop of the genius it took to create such a thing as this.

     While I do not understand how it works, I believe I know what it does. It absorbs the radiation that emanates from the fuel rod contained within, and converts it directly into electricity. It is the most sacred of relics - a device that uses the Glow itself to power the world.

     The next step I have only hesitated to take because of fear. I am not afraid anymore. I will roll the dice, play my hand, and let the Glow embrace me if I fail.

     I will tear the secrets of the pre-fall scientists from the guts of their work. I will replicate their work, I will convert radiation into power. I will bring the light of the Glow to Bravo or I will die trying.