Chapter 130: 102. The Status Quo

Thanks to somebody's last-minute decision, the school didn't re-open again on Friday after all. Classes were definitely going to resume on Monday, but at least we all got an extra day off so we could make it into a long weekend. And fortunately we all found out about that on Thursday night, which saved everyone from getting up and getting ready and going to school only to find the place still closed.

So Friday morning me and my sister both slept in. When we got up we discovered mum was still home too, apparently she took the day off work. Mom wasn't working either, so it seemed like all four of us were going to have a quiet little holiday at home together.

Or at least, that's what I thought at first.

We started off with a nice breakfast of pancakes and bacon. Then after Nina and I got dressed I asked if she wanted to play video games or something. I also texted Kaylee to see if she wanted to hang out too, or if she'd already come up with plans for the day.

That's when I found out that my parents had some plans for the four of us, and instead of a fun relaxing morning playing games with my sister the whole family sat down around the kitchen table for what felt like it was going to be some kind of intervention or something.

Mom and mum both looked kind of serious as they sat across from me and Nina, which left me feeling like I'd done something wrong. I couldn't remember what though, so I was mostly just confused and anxious without knowing why.

"What is it you wanted to talk about?" I asked a little nervously. "Am I in trouble or something?"

Mom replied, "No Cassandra, but we do need to talk about consequences again."

"But I haven't done anything wrong," I protested. Then I added quietly, "Not lately anyways. I haven't changed reality for anyone, I haven't made any demonic deals or anything like that. And the only time I ever did that stuff was with the Winters. That's it."

"I haven't given out any more plushies at school since January either," I added.

Mum took over, "We know hon. But you are still distributing those enchanted toys, and more to the point there's already quite a few of them out there. Having those internet reporters show up is a direct result of that. They're here because of all the demi-humans around town, and that's because of your activities."

I slumped down in my chair and pouted, "Most of those are from when Socha was influencing me. They're people who got their plushie from the vending machine last year. You can't blame me for that, it's not my fault."

"We're not blaming you Cass," mom stated. "But we still need to talk about this. Especially if you're going to continue giving those toys to people."

Before I could interrupt she pushed ahead, "I know you want to keep giving them out because of how they can help trans people, but the fact that they leave their users with obviously non-human traits is a serious issue. For them because it makes them stand out as different, but it can also be an issue for you too hon. Every demi-human out there who can be traced back to you is a potential problem. And the more of them there are, the bigger that problem could become."

"What kind of problem?" I asked. "And how's this even an issue? Whether it's one hundred or two hundred or a thousand people happy to have cute fuzzy ears and tails, that's nothing compared to the eight billion humans walking around."

Mum sighed, "It's a problem because of situations like the one we face now with the reporters. Isolated incidents are one thing. When you reach a critical mass and the public at large is forced to take note, that could be a tipping point. You remember what May said about Socha being banished? She violated the status quo badly enough that she was cast out from the mortal realm, never to return."

"Yeah but we already know that can't happen to me," I replied. "That was Socha's big plan right? Demons can't be exiled from Earth, and my body's demonic, so I'm stuck here."

"That's not the point Cassandra," she stated. "The point is by distributing those plush toys, by continuing to turn people into demi-humans, you're getting closer and closer to violating the status quo. If that happens you could suddenly find yourself with more trouble than you can handle."

Mom added, "And while you personally might be immune from repercussions, the people you care about are not. Your girlfriend is mortal, so are all your other friends. Nina is likely safe as well, since she can't be banished or exiled from Earth. Your mum and I have no place in the heavens, but I don't know how tightly we're bound to the Earth. And unlike you, neither your sister or your mum or myself are truly immortal. We're just very long-lived and can be rather hard to destroy."

"Oh," I grimaced as my stomach lurched. "You're saying if I make the council mad enough, they might come after you, or Kaylee, or the rest of the club?"

Mum shook her head, "Not the council. They're humans, they police other humans. Witches, wizards, necromancers, and so on. They also police human-adjacent supernaturals, like werewolves and shape-shifters and the like. They do pose a threat to the other members of Club Luna, but they're all but powerless against the four of us."

I frowned, "So who'd be threatening you three? Who controls the status quo?"

Mom and mum exchanged a glance, then mum took a deep breath like she was about to launch into a long or difficult lecture.

She began, "The status quo is not controlled by any one person or entity. It's not controlled at all, in fact. It's almost become a thing unto itself. It draws its power from the strongest mainstream gods, the ones who have worshippers numbering in the hundreds of millions and up into the billions."

"They may have consciously controlled the status quo at one time," she continued, "Eight or ten centuries ago maybe, but since then it's become its own self-perpetuating thing. It still serves those that created it, but I doubt they could stop it nowadays. I don't even think they could change how it works. Not that they'd want to, since it continues to benefit them."

I frowned, "What does it do though? How did it banish Socha? And if nobody's controlling it, then how would it notice us? How can it threaten us?"

Mum explained, "Let's start with what it does. It operates on two levels, call them the mortal level and the divine level. The mortal level is the reason people like Kenzie or Kirstie Winters can attend school, go shopping, maybe even go to work, and generally go about their lives without being hounded by reporters or people demanding to know who and what they are. It works passively, to encourage the general public to discount, ignore, or disbelieve things which seem impossible."

"It's the reason that werewolves, vampires, fae, nymphs, demons, and angels can exist somewhat openly yet at the same time remain a secret," mom added. "Because everyone 'knows' such things don't exist. So when the general public sees a werewolf or a vampire or a bunnygirl, they 'know' it can't be what it appears. They assume they're seeing a normal human in a disguise. Or they assume it's an hallucination. Or they assume any other of a hundred mundane explanations."

She sighed, "Modern capitalist human society keeps people distracted enough with their own problems, that most of them simply don't have time or energy to care when the see some random supernatural event. It's easier to discount it as something mundane and continue on with their day than believe they just witnessed something incredible."

Mum took over again, "Obviously that doesn't always happen. Some people see the truth, or want to see the truth. Some people are open-minded and attentive enough to know they're seeing something unusual. Kaylee, Cerys, Paige, and Brooke are those sorts of people. May Hawthorne probably saw that in them, that's why she taught them magic. Thanks to the status quo, most people don't believe real magic exists. If they see it they'll discount it as trickery or sleight of hand."

"This works up to a point," she continued in a warning tone, "That built-in denial or scepticism can only stand so long in the face of continued evidence to the contrary. When that breaks down they're forced to accept that the supernatural is real. Which is what happened to people like Melanie, becoming a werewolf against her will forced her to accept the supernatural. If that happens to enough people then the status quo becomes threatened, and that's when it becomes dangerous."

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I shook my head, "Why though? Why would the status quo want to keep magic and the supernatural secret? Why does it matter if there's werewolves and demons and witches?"

"Because keeping those things suppressed serves the handful of gods at the top," mum replied. "And in general terms, their faith teaches that such things are evil, or the work of the devil or demons. They teach that the only 'magic' comes from them, in the form of miracles. Everything else is denied, dismissed, vilified, and demonized."

When I didn't question or comment on that she went back to what she was saying earlier, "On the divine scale, the status quo keeps other gods down. Mainstream religions like the ones your mom and I used to serve preach monotheism, they claim there are no other gods but theirs, some even encourage their faithful to convert or eliminate the 'nonbelievers', 'infidels', or 'heretics'. The status quo helps, by essentially suppressing any potential competition long before they have a chance to challenge the big gods."

"The status quo is what stops gods like May Hawthorne or yourself from revealing yourselves to the public at large," mum continued. "Whether you were trying to do something positive or destructive, the status quo would intervene and stop you."

I grimaced and mumbled, "I still don't really want to be a god, and I definitely wouldn't be going out and making a scene in public. I wouldn't want the attention. But um, if someone like May or me did want to reveal ourselves, how would the status quo stop them? What would it do?"

Mum explained, "There are several methods it seems to employ. Some are more passive, like simply having plans and schemes fail. For example if you were trying to go public online you might find your computer or phone kept breaking before you could stream or upload things. Or your website could get 'hacked' and erased. Or even if you were able to post something, it wouldn't be believed anyways. There's an endless list of ways it can simply prevent the message getting out."

"Other methods were more direct," mom added, "And more brutal. Like in Socha's case, banishment and permanent exile. An even harsher response would involve having an upstart god's worshippers or believers razed from the Earth and all memory of that god purged. That would starve a god of their power and leave them like a shadow or ghost of their former self."

The thought of all those innocent people being hurt made me shudder. It also seemed totally unfair, that the status quo would go after normal people just because they believed in a god who was trying to make themself more popular. Or trying to help more people.

After thinking about it for another minute or so I finally sighed, "I still don't understand what this has to do with me? I'm not trying to reveal myself to the world, I don't want to become famous or have the whole world know about magic and supernatural stuff. I just want to help trans people with a bit of fun magic and cute little plushies."

My parents exchanged a look, then mom responded "If that's all you were doing Cass then there wouldn't be a problem. But that's not all you're doing. Your plushies are making people obviously non-human, and there's enough of them in our town now to have attracted the attention of those reporters."

"And that's why we're concerned," mum took over. "This isn't dark blurry pictures that might or might not be a sasquatch if you squint at it just right. These are people attending school or going to work in broad daylight. People that can be interviewed and photographed. People with names and families and social media accounts."

Then mom asked, "Cass hon, wanting to help your fellow trans people is a noble goal, but why does that help have to make people visibly non-human? Why not just give them gender-affirming bodies without the animal ears and tails?"

"I don't know," I shrugged as I sank down into my hoodie. I added quietly, "That's how it started, that's what the piece of Socha inside me wanted. And the plushies are cute. And it's cool."

A few more answers seemed to come into my head from nowhere. I didn't question them, but my voice got even quieter as I repeated them for my parents and sister.

"Giving people the demi-human traits shakes things up," I mumbled. "It's disruptive, it forces other people who see those demi-humans to question what they think is real. It stirs things up. It sprinkles a few drops of chaos into an otherwise stable and stagnant society. And all of that translates into a little more power flowing back to me, so I can keep helping more people."

My parents and my sister all seemed a little surprised by that stuff. They exchanged some quick glances with each other. Then Nina asked quietly, "Did Socha tell you that, back when she was influencing you?"

"I guess?" I grimaced.

There were a couple more looks back and forth around the kitchen table, but everyone was quiet after that. I waited a couple more seconds before asking, "Was that everything you wanted to talk about?"

Mom replied, "I think that was everything we wanted to discuss about the status quo. For now at least. Do you have any questions about it Cass?"

I shook my head, "I understand the problems and your concerns. I'll try not to do anything too obvious, and I'm definitely avoiding those reporters."

"All right hon," mum responded. "In that case there's just one other thing we wanted to talk with you about. Don't worry, it's got nothing to do with the status quo or magic or any of that."

"Last night you made a suggestion to Cerys and Melanie," she continued, "About the possibility of becoming roommates so that the two of them wouldn't have to leave town, should Mr. Caetano decide to move away. Was that something you're seriously considering? Do you really want to move out?"

That made me blush. I shrugged and shook my head, "Not really? I don't know. Maybe someday, but even if I did move out I wouldn't move away. I'd want to stay close to you and mom and Nina. But um, I could tell both Melanie and Cerys were unhappy and scared of maybe being separated and stuff. Like that would break up their little pack and everything? And they don't want to leave town, they don't want to leave Club Luna and all our friends and stuff."

Mom smiled, "You're a good friend Cass. Have you put any thought into how you'd go about making that happen? You'd probably need a job, to cover your share of the rent and other expenses."

"Not really," I mumbled. "I learned how to use magic to get around that stuff. Like under Socha's influence last year? I can conjure cash, gold, whatever. And manipulating numbers in bank computers is even easier. I don't like to show off and stuff, I won't brag or flaunt it, but um, money won't be a problem for me. Ever."

Mom and mum glanced at each other once more, and I cringed as I waited for them to lecture me about messing with banks or disrupting the economy with conjured money. Instead the two of them almost smiled.

"All right hon," mum responded. "Just don't let that make you lazy, ok? Continue your education like you planned, and after college find something to do to keep yourself busy. It's nice not being forced to toil like the mortals do, but if you don't keep busy you'll find yourself growing stagnant instead."

Mom added, "We're glad you're not flaunting it Cass. Not that we thought you would, but we're happy you aren't caught up in material things the way some people are. That would draw too much attention. It's ok to be comfortable, just don't be greedy."

I looked up at the two of them in surprise as it struck me what they were saying. Like mom working from home on her web design job, and mum doing volunteer work at the thrift store. That stuff kept them busy, gave them something to do, but like I suspected neither of them did that because they needed the income.

"Anyways that's all we wanted to talk about," mum said. "Why don't you girls go and enjoy the rest of your day?"