EXCERPT FROM THE JOURNAL OF PROFESSOR X

THE DAEDALUS CONTINGENCY

It is a foul thing for a father to scheme for the downfall of his own son.

As with every painful aspect of my relationship with David, the most sensible course of action requires an unpalatable uncoupling of the heart from the mind. It must be possible to love, support, and advocate for a person whilst simultaneously acknowledging their flaws, inadequacies, and dangers. And preparing for the latter.

That David has a good heart and keen intellect has never been enough. He is, by my estimation, the most powerful mutant alive.

His skills multiply at a rate that dwarfs any individual's ability to manage. This would be a troubling enough reality in an adult of sound mind, but -- with his difficulties? His challenges, his lapses of equanimity and control? His passions? His ambitions? His grudges?

Intolerable.

DAEDALUS is simple enough. A didactic protocol based on a few inconsequential Shi'ar mindfulness techniques whose core psychic notion infiltrates the higher functions. It gains access to the limbic system through a heuristic matrix, triggered by a moment of pride, pleasure, or pain. From there it rapidly disestablishes nodes of focus and control. A painless and alarmingly simple little worm. The victim -- no, the patient -- is harmlessly rendered near-catatonic and left incapable of conscious aggression.

I do not wish David any harm. I only wish I could say the same were always true in reverse. Any antipathy he feels toward me, explicable though it may be, must be seen as a threat not only to my person, but to the efficacy of the dream that is my life's work. A work from which David will benefit as much as any other mutant.

Under these circumstances, preparing contingencies for David's neutralization is, in a very real way, the truest expression imaginable of my love for him.