The next day I found myself sitting next to Howard at the highest peak of the island. The view from the cliff is amazing, nothing short of wonderful, made doubly great by its total uniqueness. Howard's mansion doesn't shine, and so much of it is buried underground, but it's a sight to behold from above anyway, its architecture a testament to complete futurism. Acres of forest rolled out before us, carefully managed but looking like a natural tropical paradise. Some flat grassland, unmowed and waving. a bit of a beach, and miles and miles of ocean, with a grey, overcast sky in the distance. It looked intentionally serene, as if whoever manages this island stands on this cliff daily to check to make sure there aren't any problems. It was slightly cloudy, but with a lot of sun. Definitely a good day, and an excellent place, to be outside.

"Billy, you've never told me about the people you thought were your parents. What were they like?"

"Nothing like the parents of everyone else I knew. They were polite and all, but they were just.. weird. I didn't know they were weird until I was like 8 though. They did everything, but when it came to all that parental happy crap, you know, taking me with them to where I didn't wanna go, like everyone else at school had.. they never did any of that, not really. Also, there's the food thing, the sleep thing, and well.. they basically stayed out of my way. Now I know why..."

"Ha! That's because they didn't want you developing any Oedipal complexes or any other shit before you got here."

"Oh, to preserve my mental integrity, right?", I said sarcastically. That's a laugh. What could they possibly do to me in the normal world that would top this for insanity-inducing effects?

"Billy, do the words 'damaged goods' mean anything to you?"

I chuckled at that. It wasn't insulting, not from Howard. "Yup. But Oedipal complexes? I imagine if the guy pissed me off, I would have killed him.." I had no idea I could, which probably would have meant I would be surprised at his death when I hit him too hard... "but to marry the wench? Uuugh!"

"Oh, it applies to me, too.. just not with the parents." Yes, I can command her, but Howard has Sarah. A girl all his own, who can't ever say no to him, with no possibility of ever going to anyone else.

"Ha. So what were their parents like?" It's such a nice day, Howard, and you're going to talk about normal parents in it? Of course, he's got an eternity of nice days to ask such questions, anyway.

"Okay... they were almost like.. like masters, of implanted servants. Only the implants didn't work right, and the servants were pavloved all to hell, and there was a lot of psychological shit that you keep saying you hate. They didn't really.. raise their children, you know? Most of them just did a lot of threatening. They didn't think about what it would make." Howard understood.

"Ick. How'd you deal with all those normals anyway?" He wouldn't want to, would he? To him, this place, with its wonderful views, amazing technology, and people conspiring for a brighter future, is normal, and the 'normal' world is a polluted, disgusting hellhole, like a giant cesspool of retards eating their own shit.

"I ignored most of them, threatened some of them, kicked the shit out of seven of them, and made friends with .. four of them." In three cases, the friendships either didn't last or we kinda drifted apart. "Believe me, Howard, dealing with normals is a hell of a lot easier than dealing with you." I can do so many more things to them, so much more easily. It's like playing on Easy mode in a game instead of Bioengineered Hard.

"So you want to go back?" The question shattered this like a hammer breaking glass. The thing is that I knew this was real, made real by powerful technology and dutiful, careful servants who exist to make Howard's world a better place, made real by people who determine what reality will be, and the normal world was utterly fake, with duplicitous manipulators everywhere, a broken system shaping behavior, and the normals drunken, miserable actors who didn't know their lines on stage. For a moment it seemed reversed, like this was fake, and the normal world was the rightful reality. There, I determined my own actions in it. Here, I ultimately don't, because an independent actor is not who the people who run this place placed me to be.

"Yeah. What the fuck did you think, Howard?", I screamed at him. "That I want to stay here with you and be your servant for all eternity? I don't care if they're stupid! I don't care if they're sheeple! You didn't know that the first thing I wanted was to go back and be with the reality and the freedom I'm used to again, even if it is fake?"

I was expecting him to laugh at me, to powertrip a bit, and to chuckle and have fun with me. Instead, his reply was gentle. "It was painfully obvious as soon as you got here. But I can't send you back with them, Billy. Even if you did, even if absolutely nothing wrong happened, if no one found out about your abilities, even if no one remembered you, even if no one got a hold of your DNA, what would you do? You live forever, Billy. Sooner or later, someone would find out." Or the End of Secrecy would happen and I'd be with the Illuminati again anyway. "You're living proof of our existence. So I can't send you back. And even if I could, I don't think I'd want to."

I knew the answer, at least I thought I did- but I was upset and had to ask anyway. "Why not?"

"Billy, before Sarah, then you, got here, you know how much time I've had to talk to anyone anywhere near my age? How much research I've done on people and how little I've talked to them? Then she came along and finally there was someone, now you're here and I have someone else. Hell, even if you were a normal I still couldn't let you go. You're too fucking valuable." That's not even counting actual usefulness when, say, pushing rocks, solving problems, or killing Enforcers. And that's all I- or anyone else- am to him: something to be used.

"Howard, the only thing that's comforting me right now is what you said about every eventuality happening sometime in an immortal's life. That means one of these days, you are going to get knocked off your fucking high horse."

"Ha. I welcome it.", he replied, haughtily.

"Bullshit.", I called him on.

"Fuck you. Not literally, I don't want to see that."

I heard someone walking behind us and knew it had to be Paul. "Hello, Howard. Hello, Billy.", he called, tired from walking. "Overseeing your kingdom, young master?" Howard doesn't need his own eyes to do that, but if he was, this would be the place to do it. Since this is a round Earth and you can't see the whole world from a high place, all he needs are some giant space-based mirrors to see every inch of it. A silly daydream, but silly daydreams in this place are often too close to reality.

"Yes.. Paul, there's a dissident frog in Korea I need you to capture." Paul turned around to do just that. I looked at Howard, wondering what the hell he was doing.

"Do you mind being more specific?"

"North Korea." Howard started laughing. "I'm just kidding! Get back here."

"Howard, that was not funny.", I told him. Paul came and sat between us, elbows on knees, looking over the cliff. "Paul, why the fuck did you come up here?"

"I got bored and felt a little masochistic."

"A little masochistic? More like suicidal!", I exclaimed. Paul, c'mon, Howard's nice as evil overlords go, but don't tempt him, okay? It was getting windy out, and a little bit cooler. The grey clouds I saw to the west were moving in. Time for more Northwest rain.

"No, suicidal is when you ask for something to do." I was waiting for it, but it didn't happen. "Not unless you tell me.", Paul said.

"Argh! Am I that predictable?", Howard asked.

"Not really.", I replied, as Paul said, "Pretty much."

"All right, Paul- what am I going to do next?", Howard asked.

"You're going to tell us to get inside before we get hit by lightning." Paul's prediction was based on logic. The grey clouds weren't slowing down, and it's a slight walk to the mansion.

"You guessed it. Get inside before you get hit by lightning." Would it fry the implants? Certainly... and take a good chunk of our brains with them. We walked back down the small mountain, sliding a bit on the loose rocks, and jogging through the paradise forest. We made it just in time- the clouds were coming in very fast indeed, and discharged their loud, thunderous payload, with wind and rain, a massive load of torrentous weather on a place that the Weather Channel would never cover. Howard's mansion is soundproof to the outside, but we could still sense it buffeting the glass.

Sarah walked down the stairs, as if she's been waiting for us. "Howard, Damien's dad called again. As you probably guessed, he's pissed. He and a few other jokers want you to go to a meeting of theirs about this. He also wanted you to call him." First bad weather, now idiots. What a way to ruin a perfectly good day.

"I didn't know that assfuck had a dad.", Paul said, angrily. He didn't? He never even got the chance to see... Out of everything I've done in my life, that plan to execute Damien was my very, very best.

"Actually, if he didn't, he'd probably be much smarter. And still alive. But noooo...", Howard said, annoyance in his voice. He thought a bit and then looked at me.

"Billy, take off all your clothes, go up to my room, put on the white suit, get back down here, and you deal with the asshole as would best prevent bad shit from happening to me. While pretending to be me, of course." Oh! So you're finally making me impersonate you, making this my problem now. Gladly. One cheap excuse and it's eternal nighty-night for that Bastard. There are some commands that you don't need the implants for, Howie. I'll enjoy this. In moments I was dressed, and Howard wore the black clothing, gleefully pretending to be me. "No giving it away, everyone.", Howard said as I came back down, and Paul made an effort to hide his smile.

Let's see... Viewscreen on, last message, yup, it was from him. Start talking and... "You killed my son, you little bastard!!" My, he's frisky today. Time to take him down a notch.

"Bullshit! He killed himself. He let his fucking servant shoot him in the head.", I shouted, sounding like Howard, probably a bit more loudly than usual.

"After your servant told him to do it, him thinking it was you!" IF YOU ONLY KNEW, ASSHOLE! I wanted to laugh badly, everyone in the room did. I certainly hope Howie lets me be him more often. This is fun!

"Look, I am not responsible for anyone's stupidity. I let him ask the question..", I said, gesturing to Howard, "..because I thought your precious son couldn't be killed by a few words. He was a fucking second level. I thought he could take care of himself.", I said, sneering at him. He tried to talk but I overrode him. "Now, I am going to ask you a question, and I want you to answer it! Do you doubt what I have told you about the facts of the incident is the truth?"

"No. I do not doubt the facts you have told me. I doubt your reaction to them. I have seen no justice." Justice? Justice?! Your son fucking tortured my friend for the fun of it, made him cut off his own dick, and now you want to talk to me about justice, you cockswallowing shiteating pathetic excuse for a world controller? You don't deserve justice, you deserve nothing but painful, agonizing death, you fucking asshole!

Of course, I didn't actually say any of that. "All right then, I want to hear exactly what you want and why you want it."

"I want you, and that servant who asked the question, to come to a meeting, so that we may best talk about what should be done." Um. Can you say 'trap', boys and girls? I knew you could!

"And who will be at this meeting?", I asked.

"You and your servant, myself, and several other Illuminati who have an interest in this matter." You're kidding, right?! I laughed hard. So did Howard. "Oh- so you mean everyone who agrees with you? I don't think so. If we're going to have a meeting it will be with at least the top two levels. If, of course, this matter is as important as you say it is." Your son's life was an aberration. Killing him was like popping an infected zit, and we're all better off without him. Drink piss, you writhing maggot.

"You listen to ME!!", he started to scream, and I felt something open up in response.

"NO. YOU LISTEN TO ME.", I said, all-controlling force coming out of my diaphragm, through my vocal cords, and out of my mouth. This is the essence of the Dominator: pure, absolute control, and I felt Howard's complete authority pour from my lungs like a bucket of napalm. The Bastard recoiled like he'd been hit. I clenched my fists, feeling the blades pop forth. "I will not tolerate this shit any longer. The meeting will be held between all members of the top two levels at the main headquarters exactly fifty-three hours from now." The math came instantly to me. It would be midnight there, three nights in the future. "You will come to that meeting respectfully and you will never use that tone of voice with me again, or I will personally cut you into tiny pieces. Am I making myself clear?" I was indeed. The man on the screen hated me, hated me with all his fury and might, but his fury and might were nothing compared to mine (shit, I'm even thinking like Howard now), and both of us knew it.

"Yes, Dominator.", The Bastard said, before turning his end of the screen off.

"Uuugh... my throat hurts.", I said, as Paul pumped his fist, chanting "Yes! Yes! That was glorious!" I'd overdone it with that death voice, but it was worth it.

Howard took off the black clothing, smiling. "Billy, that was good. Excellent, in fact. And yes, take it off.", he commanded. Aww.

"Howard, are they always like that?", I asked him.

"Sure as hell seems like it, doesn't it?", he replied, nodding.

"Yup."

"That was a good call, that meeting thing. If it'll finish this, anyway.", Howard said, as Paul continued to cheer more quietly. I realized what I had done- I'd made a decision affecting Howard's future actions. Then again, I'd been commanded to do it; he told me to pretend to be him, and he's decisive like that.

Howard spent the next two days with us, doing things that normals didn't even know were possible.