“We must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex.”
- Dwight D. Eisenhower
It started with the Nazis and experiments into psychic warfare. A great many psychics died in the concentration camps at the hands of doctors and scientists who thought they were working towards a superior race.
They didn’t know that “new” race was already among then, and had been for years, hiding in the crowds and just trying to stay off the government radar. The war made that impossible.
It’s possible the war might have wiped psychics out all together if not for the brave actions of one German scientist: a man named Dr. Abraham Erskine. Erskine was part of a research team that was trying to develop a drug to boost psychic powers, to turn those with gifts into super soldiers. To the growing anger of their Nazi superiors, thus far, all attempts at manufacturing the drug had failed with a soaring number of deadly results. Scores of psychics died due to this single experiment.
Eventually Erskine had enough. He fled the country, his research with him.
That alone wasn’t the reason he was immediately branded a traitor. Erskine, as he revealed with great trepidation to the Americans who sheltered him, was almost certain that actually succeeded in perfecting the serum he had his colleagues had worked for.
Now all they needed was a subject to test it on. After months of search through the ranks of the U.S. military and those few soldiers who dared come forward and admit to their other gifts, Erskine had all but despaired of every finding an appropriate candidate.
He literally stumbled on the perfect psychic all by accident. He was at a recruiting booth and overheard the recruiter and a nurse discussing what to do with a young man who had apparently attempted to enlist in multiple occasions and had even given false information in hopes of passing the various entrance requirements. That determination intrigued Erskine.
So did the one common thread he discovered in the young man’s various enlistment papers – the notation of a psychic ability that the military had dismissed as “a minor power” and “of no conceivable military use.” Erskine knew better. That gift could be a curse of monumental proportion, or a gift to everyone who ever encountered it. Erskine could only hope it would prove to be the latter.
He snapped up the young man for his program, and the longer he observed this “Steve Rogers,” the more he admired him and felt sure he had chosen properly. He only hoped his serum would do its work without damaging the core of sheer goodness the young man possessed.
The night before Rogers was to undergo the procedure, Erskine sought him out, wanting to assure himself once more that his protégé would be a force for good instead of tyranny. It was then that the young man dared to ask the question Erskine knew he must have been thinking all along.
“Why me? It’s not like I can do much with my empathy powers now – not sure how that’ll change even with your serum…”
Erskine eyed him, trying to decide which truth to tell him. In the end, he settled for the one that was in some ways the most dangerous – the one that had started the Nazis on the path of psychic warfare in the first place.
“Steven, let me tell you of the first man I ever met to share your gift. I will admit, his was slightly different – almost the opposite of yours if you will. Instead of feeling the emotions of those around him, this man could influence the emotions of those around them. His gift was subtle, but it was eventually enough to draw countless followers to his side. And eventually, those followers started a war.”
He waited for his protégé to put the pieces together, and when finally Rogers’s eyes widened in horror, Erskine nodded.
“Yes, his name was Adolph Hitler. And he is what I hope you will never be, and yet is also part of what we hope you may become.”
He raised a hand to stall the young man’s protests.
“I know, that is not how your gift functions thus far, and that may never change. However, you must consider what I see in you – a man with both empathy and compassion. It is that compassion that makes your empathy all the more impressive, and that compassion that I think will keep you from becoming a monster, even if your gift does change.”
“What… I don’t understand what I’m supposed to do.”
“Inspire others to be as you are, Steven. Compassionate and determined to stand up for those who cannot stand up for themselves.”
Erskine looked away, heartsick at the memory of far too many souls who had been lost for lack of just such a man as the one sitting in front of him. He left after only a few more trivial pleasantries as neither he nor Rodgers were quite ready to continue such a weighty conversation.
The next morning proved every bit as extraordinary as Erskine had hoped it would be, though granted, the more physical side effects of the serum were something even he had not expected. But what of Steven’s gifts?
A bullet ended his musings.
As was almost to be expected, the military promptly forgot the possibilities of Rogers’ other gifts in the face of his new speed and strength and rapid healing.
With Dr. Erkine’s words of warning and encouragement all but etched into his skin, Captain America decided it was best to allow them to forget. He didn’t want to find out the hard way whether or not the military would use his now stronger and far more versatile empathy as a weapon, to force loyalty from their soldiers and terror into their enemies.
Part of him knew all too well that the answer would be likely be a resounding “yes.”