The X-Project

It's early, but as always I'm awake anyway at this ridiculous hour, so I might as well get this out of the way.

Prior to the summer term, Hank, Betsy and myself attended the unveiling of Sebastian Shaw's new mutant sensor hardware, one part of what he said was a government mandated attempt to 'address the mutant issue' once and for all. He made it quite clear in his television appearances at that time that his methods for addressing the mutant issue might easily be termed a 'final solution'. (Lest we forget, Shaw is himself a mutant, though not openly.)

At the same time that Shaw unveiled his new hardware, Stryker was leading an attack on this school, the direct outcome of which (among other things) was a confrontation between Charles and the President, which in turn led the President to spike the Shaw contract, at least officially.

Unofficially, Shaw and the Pentagon were still very much in contact with regards to this matter, as my own investigations made clear. When Ms Pryde turned up files containing schematics for these robotic weapons called 'Sentinels', it fell into place. Shaw is creating mutant hunters. I needed confirmation, and my contact at Shaw Industries was going to provide it for me. After weeks of digging and amassing information, he turned up dead the other week, which was all the assurance I needed that - and I - had been on to something.

This weekend I went directly to the fountainhead. Haroun, Betsy and Jono were good enough to help me conduct a little light subterfuge at Shaw's New York offices to get the information we needed, and from there it was a matter of some urgency to get our hands on concrete evidence before Shaw could bury it. If necessary, I would have gone ahead with just Peter and Betsy at my side at this point, but Sarah and Jono were both willing to assist, and in my view as their guardian, it was appropriate for them to participate.

What we have discovered is that Shaw is working with the Pentagon to create machines that can locate and destroy mutants - and we have proof, including photographs and final design and weapons schematics. We must accept this as an absolute fact. What we do not know is whether the government is aware of the project, whether the government will sanction this project, or how this project might be implemented.

My suspicion is that these Sentinels will be used to enforce mutant registration, should the act ever be passed. However, it is conceivable that we'll see Sentinels in action before that time, either in tests, or in special 'anti-terror' actions authorized by Homeland Security. We must act before a reason can be found or fabricated to put these Sentinels into use. The machine we saw was not complete, but we have no reason to believe it was the first of its kind.

Jono and Sarah acquitted themselves admirably in unforeseeable circumstances. I would never have placed them in a position where I did not think they would be capable of handling themselves, and I strongly believe that among all our students, they are among the best equipped - both mentally and physically - for field operations. Indeed, if we don't put their potential to use, then I fear they'll find other channels, just as Mr Allerdyce did.