"Okay, hit me," I said as I sat down on the couch. Four others sat on the couch opposite me.
All four of them were part of the new media department of Aurum Games—the division that handled the expansion of media for Warhammer 40K and other properties that Aurum Games owned.
For the last few months, I had put them to work.
The four sitting across from me were Marcus Dubois, a former HBO development executive I'd poached last year. He had worked on The Wire and True Detective before I brought him over. Siobhan O'Connor, an up-and-coming writer who was already involved with Games Workshop and was a massive Warhammer fan. She knew it inside and out. David Okonkwo, a Nigerian-British producer who had worked on big-budget productions at Legendary. Rachel Vasquez, a strong writer I had brought over from my team at DC.
Marcus cleared his throat. "Well, Mr. Adler, we have a lot."
"I have an hour," I said, leaning back. "Impress me."
"Okay, okay," Marcus said, flipping open his folder.
Siobhan jumped in first. "First, we have Eisenhorn."
"Ah," I said. "It's the least Warhammer-accurate series I've read. I mean, Dan Abnett was just winging the lore there."
"Easily fixable," Rachel chimed in.
"Sure, yeah, it can be a nice foundation to build on," I said, nodding.
"So we're going for something like True Detective meets Blade Runner, but set in the grimdark world of 40K," Marcus explained.
"The noir mystery structure allows gradual worldbuilding," Siobhan added. "Supporting characters like Harlon Nayl and Alizebeth Bequin can slowly introduce the world of Warhammer to a wider audience. We can show Eisenhorn's corruption from an idealistic Puritan to a radical pragmatist over the course of multiple seasons."
I nodded. That made sense.
David chimed in. "It's the most budget-friendly option. Mostly human characters, practical effects, limited Space Marine appearances you know."
"Sounds good," I said, thinking this was something Netflix would immediately greenlight. "What's next?"
Siobhan leaned forward. "We were thinking of a series like Band of Brothers based on Gaunt's Ghosts. It could be like Sharpe meeting Saving Private Ryan, but in the 41st millennium."
"This is one of the costliest," David said.
I chimed in, "It's also something that won't be so easy for most people to get into right away."
Rachel nodded. "Yes, but it's something to consider for the future—once we've established the universe."
I nodded.
"Well, next we have the Rogue Trader."
Rachel was the one who explained it first. "It can be something like Star Trek meets Firefly."
Siobhan's eyes lit up. She took over, leaning forward with genuine enthusiasm.
"This is my favorite," she said. "And it's also the one most likely to be very successful."
She flipped open her own notes.
"So, the basic premise: we follow a Rogue Trader dynasty exploring the Koronus Expanse. Each episode features a different planet, a different problem. But there's a season arc, a larger conspiracy or threat building across episodes."
I nodded, listening.
She explained that the main cast would consist of the Rogue Trader himself, a hereditary warrant holder, a morally complex character along with a supporting cast of colorful characters that would draw interest from the audience.
She paused, gauging my reaction.
"Optionally, we could include aliens, I mean, xenos as crew members, an Eldar ranger, a Kroot mercenary. Controversial, yes, but it adds variety and shows the moral flexibility that Rogue Traders have."
"The planet-of-the-week format allows us to showcase diverse 40K factions without being locked into one setting. Also, budget flexibility we can do big set pieces every three or four episodes and keep the rest character-driven. The Rogue Trader's independence allows you to include alien characters without running into 'heresy' issues, because Rogue Traders operate outside the normal Imperial hierarchy."
"Plus, it appeals to the exploration and Star Trek audience people who like episodic sci-fi but want something darker and grittier."
I sat there, thinking.
The Rogue Trader idea was something I had thought of, and it looked like they had arrived at the same idea as well.
"Well, the Rogue Trader one is definitely happening. Eisenhorn second. Ghosts last."
"What else?" I asked.
"Ciaphas Cain," said Marcus.
"Well, finally," I said, a grin spreading across my face. "I was kind of disappointed you didn't bring it up first."
The Hero of the Imperium was one of my favorite characters. Ciaphas Cain was famously hailed as a "Hero of the Imperium" , a decorated, courageous leader who had saved countless worlds and inspired generations of Guardsmen. But the truth, as told through his own memoirs, was completely different. Cain was secretly a self-serving survivalist who constantly sought safe assignments, only to ironically land himself in the deadliest battles through sheer bad luck. He survived by bluffing, improvisation, and an almost supernatural ability to stumble into heroism while trying to run away.
It was brilliant, darkly comedic, self-aware, and completely unique in the grimdark setting of Warhammer 40K. People would love it because it subverted every trope of the setting while still being genuinely exciting and action-packed.
Siobhan smiled. "Well, we saved the best for last."
It was Rachel who spoke. "We're going for Blackadder Goes Forth meets Guardians of the Galaxy, set in 40K."
I laughed. "Sounds great."
Siobhan explained, "This is the most developed one we have so far. We've already outlined the first season Cain gets assigned to a backwater agri-world expecting a quiet tour, only to discover a Genestealer Cult uprising. The season arc follows him trying to stay alive while accidentally becoming the hero everyone thinks he is."
She continued, "His aide, Jurgen, is the loyal straight man. The dynamic writes itself. And we get to explore different 40K threats: Orks, Tau, Chaos, Necrons because Cain's career spans decades."
"Budget-wise," David added, "it's mid-range. More than Eisenhorn, less than Ghosts."
I nodded, satisfied.
They then pitched more ideas. Some I liked, some I didn't.
There was one set in the 30K era, a limited series or movie focused on the Horus Heresy. The fall of the Emperor's most favored son. The galaxy tearing itself apart in a civil war.
It was quite ambitious, and it would only happen if 40K really took off in the coming years. The series would need to capture people's attention first before we could justify the massive budget something like the Horus Heresy would require.
After about forty-five minutes of discussion, I was impressed with what they had.
"You've done good work," I said.
They all looked relieved.
"I plan to go forward with Ciaphas Cain, Rogue Trader, Eisenhorn, and Ghosts for now."
I leaned forward, looking each of them in the eye.
"Netflix will throw money at it. And if they don't, I will."
"Expect to be working on it with Netflix," I added. "But we can talk about that later."
They nodded.
"Keep working on Cain and Rogue Trader first. Develop the pilots, get scripts ready. We'll meet again at the beginning of 2018 to finalize everything."
"Understood," Marcus said.
"Yes, sir," Siobhan added.
David and Rachel nodded.
"Good," I said, standing up.
They all stood, gathered their materials, and filed out. I walked them to the door, shook hands, and saw them off.
I would have liked to discuss it with them more, but I was kind of distracted.
As soon as they left, I almost ran to the entertainment room where I had everything set up for gaming.
I sat down on the couch, grabbed the controller, and pressed the button. The TV lit up, and the game I had paused came back to life.
Batman: The Dark Reign.
The game was coming out in a week, but I had gotten it early. Perks of being the top guy in the company.
And I was addicted to it.
Considering how well it was optimized, how well it was made, and how impressed I was with it so far DC was going to make so much money from this.
I continued playing, guiding Batman through the rain-soaked streets of Gotham.
Wasn't the Conan video supposed to come out today? I thought as I controlled Batman to hit a thug in the face with a perfectly timed counter.
I'd check later.
Right now, Gotham needed saving.
.
.
.
CLUELESS GAMER: "BATMAN: DARK REIGN" WITH DANIEL ADLER
[The Clueless Gamer theme music plays over the iconic pixelated intro]
[Cut to CONAN sitting on the couch in the Clueless Gamer set, holding a controller]
CONAN: Hello, I'm Conan O'Brien here, and welcome to another edition of Clueless Gamer, where I play video games that I don't understand for reasons I don't know...
[Audience laughs]
CONAN: Today, we're playing Batman: Dark Reign, which I'm told is a very serious, very fun video game about a billionaire who beats up poor people in his free time.
[Audience laughs]
CONAN: And joining me today is someone who knows a thing or two about Batman and billionaires—Daniel Adler!
[Camera pans to reveal DANIEL ADLER sitting next to Conan]
CONAN: Daniel, thank you for being here.
DANIEL: Good to be here.
CONAN: You don't have to say that. You could be anywhere right now.
[Audience laughs]
CONAN: I appreciate you being here, though. But, um, before we start, we have someone here to explain what this game is about. Aaron?
[AARON BLEYAERT enters]
AARON: Hey, Daniel! Conan.
AARON: Okay, um, so Batman: Dark Reign is an open-world action-adventure game set in Gotham City. You play as Batman navigating a crime-ridden metropolis, but what makes this game revolutionary is the Nemesis System. Okay, so… the Nemesis System. It's a dynamic, AI-driven ecosystem where every enemy you encounter remembers you. If you fail to defeat them, they get stronger. They evolve. They set traps for you. It's like a living, breathing criminal underworld.
[Conan slowly turns to the camera as the audience laughs]
CONAN: Aaron, I need you to take it down about thirty percent.
[Conan turns to Daniel]
CONAN: You seem very into this.
DANIEL: I mean, I kind of bought the system he's talking about so the game could be made.
CONAN (surprised): Really how much?
DANIEL: twenty-five million.
CONAN: WHAT? Twenty-five million dollars for some video game heebie-jeebie?!
[More laughter]
[Daniel laughs as well]
AARON: The game tracks every interaction you have with enemies, and they remember every failure, every defeat—
CONAN: Kind of like my therapist.
[Audience laughs loudly]
DANIEL (to Aaron): Let's just play the game.
[Aaron retreats off-camera]
[The game starts with Batman perched on a gargoyle in the rain]
CONAN: Oh, wow. Look at that. Very dramatic. Very brooding.
DANIEL: That's kind of his whole thing.
CONAN: Does he ever just… relax? Like, go to a beach?
DANIEL: Bruce Wayne goes to beaches. Batman does not.
CONAN: Right, right. So this is the billionaire who dresses up like a bat.
DANIEL: Yep.
CONAN: And you're also a billionaire.
DANIEL: I don't dress up like a bat.
CONAN: Yet.
[Audience laughs]
[Conan moves Batman forward clumsily, running into a wall. He keeps doing it.]
[Daniel is laughing]
CONAN: Don't laugh.
[Conan makes Batman run into another wall, then into a random NPC]
CONAN (in a deep, comedic voice): Oh, sorry! I didn't see you there. It's too dark! Oh, beg my pardon, I can't see anything in this mask.
[Audience laughs]
DANIEL: Okay, now use the grappling hook. Press LB.
[On-screen, Batman grapples to a rooftop]
CONAN: Oh! Oh, I'm flying now! Look at me!
DANIEL: Okay, the guy we're looking for is over there. We can jump off here and glide.
[On-screen, Batman arrives at his target. He's on a rooftop overlooking a group of thugs below.]
DANIEL: Okay, let's push this button—
[Daniel leans in and presses a button on the controller in Conan's hands]
[Detective Vision activates, highlighting enemies below in blue]
CONAN: What's happening? Why is everything blue now?
AARON (off-camera): That's Detective Vision! It lets you see enemies through walls!
CONAN: Aaron, I thought I told you to go away.
DANIEL: You can see how many guys are down there and plan your attack.
CONAN: Plan my attack. Right. Here's my plan: go down there and punch everyone.
DANIEL: That's a good plan.
[Conan drops down into the middle of a group of thugs]
THUG 1: It's the Bat! Get him!
CONAN: Oh, they don't sound happy to see me.
[Combat begins. Conan button-mashes wildly]
CONAN: I'm punching! I'm punching so many people!
DANIEL: You're supposed to counter when the button prompt appears.
CONAN: I'm supposed to do a lot of things. Pay my taxes. Call my mother. None of that's happening either.
[Audience laughs]
[A larger thug walks in from off-screen, stumbling slightly. Text appears on-screen: DEREK THE DRUNK – LEVEL 12]
CONAN (laughing): Derek the Drunk?
[Audience laughs]
DANIEL: Yeah, you can get intel on him. Bring up the Nemesis Web. Press Y.
[Conan presses the button. A detailed profile appears on-screen]
CONAN: Well, we already know about Derek. Don't really need this thing. We know he has low self-esteem.
DANIEL: Doesn't love his family.
CONAN: Well, he probably loves his family but doesn't show it. Covers that up with alcohol.
[Audience laughs as the camera zooms in on Conan]
[On-screen, Derek stumbles forward, slurring his words]
DEREK: Ahh, the Batman! Good! Killing you is gonna make me— hic—
[Derek swings wildly. Conan tries to fight him but gets pummeled]
DANIEL: Hit X! Hit X!
CONAN: I did hit X!
[Batman gets knocked down. Game over.]
CONAN: Killed by a drunk.
[More laughter]
DANIEL: You want me to do it? Take over?
CONAN: Oh yeah, you do it.
[Daniel takes the controller]
[The gameplay changes immediately. Daniel expertly counters attacks, chains combos, uses gadgets, and dismantles the group of thugs in seconds]
CONAN: Oh! Oh! Yeah, go for the head! Kill him!
[Daniel hits a thug with a perfect counter, knocking him unconscious]
[An NPC thug appears on-screen, shouting generic dialogue]
THUG: "The Bat ain't so tough! We can take him!"
CONAN (imitating the thug's voice): "The Bat ain't so tough!" Who talks like this?
CONAN: "We can take him!" No, you can't. I just beat up twelve of your friends.
[Audience laughs]
[Another thug runs away screaming]
THUG: "I ain't getting paid enough for this!"
CONAN: Finally, a reasonable person!
[Daniel fights Derek the Drunk.]
CONAN: It's like watching Mozart play.
[Audience laughs]
[On-screen: DEREK THE DRUNK – CAPTURED]
[Daniel puts down the controller]
CONAN (turning to the camera): It's clear you have never been outside.
[Audience laughs loudly]
{Video cuts ahead}
[They reach a mission marker. A crime scene appears]
CONAN: Oh, great. Another dead body.
[Conan stares at the screen]
CONAN: Like, how many people are killed in this city? Why would you even live in Gotham? "Oh, I'm thinking of moving to Gotham." "Really? Why?" "Well, the rent is cheap because everyone keeps dying."
[Daniel laughs as the audience laughs as well]
CONAN: "And there's a man dressed as a bat who breaks people's spines every night. It's charming!"
[More laughter]
DANIEL (through laughter): You have to investigate it. Use Detective Mode.
CONAN: I have to investigate? I thought I was just here to punch people.
[Conan activates Detective Mode and examines the body]
BATMAN (voice-over): "Serrated blade. Upward thrust from below. The killer is left-handed."
CONAN: How does he know all that?
DANIEL: He's the world's greatest detective.
CONAN: Or he's just making it up. "The killer is left-handed." Sure, Batman. Whatever you say.
[Audience laughs]
{Video cuts ahead}
CONAN: So, Daniel and I are actually in this game. You called me, like, a few months ago and asked if I would come over and do some voice lines.
DANIEL (nodding): Yeah.
CONAN: And it was for this game.
DANIEL: We're part of the Nemesis System.
[Daniel navigates to the Nemesis Web and pulls up his character]
[A criminal appears on screen]
"DANNY 'THE FIXER' MALONE"
[The character is a muscular, handsome NPC with slicked-back hair and a leather jacket]
CONAN: "Danny 'The Fixer' Malone." That guy looks cool.
DANIEL: And strong too.
CONAN (reading): "Strengths: Expert marksman. Master tactician. Immune to fear. Weaknesses: Arachnophobic."
[Pause]
CONAN: Wait. Arachnophobic?
[Audience laughs]
CONAN: So all we have to do is bring a spider to the fight?
[Daniel takes the controller and navigates to Danny the Fixer's location]
[The Nemesis intro plays. Danny the Fixer appears on-screen surrounded by goons]
DANNY THE FIXER (Daniel's voice): "You're not leaving this room alive, Batman."
CONAN (leaning in): Unless you're a spider.
[More laughter]
[The fight begins. Daniel plays expertly, dodging attacks and taking down Danny's goons one by one. Danny himself is tough, blocking attacks and countering Batman's moves]
DANNY THE FIXER: "You're nothing! Just some freak in a costume!"
[Daniel spots a cobweb in the corner of the alley. He throws a Batarang at it]
[The cobweb breaks apart, and dozens of tiny spiders fall onto Danny]
DANNY THE FIXER (screaming): "AHHH! GET THEM OFF! GET THEM OFF!"
[Danny drops his weapon and runs away, flailing wildly]
[Both Conan and Daniel double over in laughter]
{Video cuts ahead}
CONAN: Okay, let's see my guy.
[Daniel navigates to Conan's character]
[The screen reveals a very odd, thin, tall, Irish-looking thug]
"CONAN 'THE GHOUL' O'MALLEY"
[The character is a sickly, pale, hunched-over thug with wild red hair and a crazed expression]
CONAN (staring at the screen): ...What the hell is that?
[Daniel is doubling over in laughter]
CONAN: I look like a Victorian ghost who died of consumption!
[Audience erupts in laughter]
DANIEL (barely able to speak): You're "The Ghoul."
[More laughter as Daniel stands up, unable to contain himself]
CONAN: "Conan 'The Ghoul' O'Malley"?!
CONAN (reading the description): "A sickly enforcer known for his unsettling appearance and unfunny jokes."
[Pause]
CONAN: Well, they got that right.
[Audience laughs]
CONAN (reading traits): "Strengths: Unpredictable. Resilient. Weaknesses: Scared by loud noises. Low morale."
[Audience laughs harder]
CONAN: "Scared by loud noises." So I'm basically a haunted scarecrow.
CONAN: I can't believe they made me look like a tubercular leprechaun.
[More laughter]
[Daniel starts the fight. Conan the Ghoul's Nemesis intro plays]
[The Ghoul appears on-screen, twitching and grinning]
CONAN THE GHOUL (Conan's voice): "Ah, Batman! You know what they say about the Bat? He walks into a bar... and then he ruins everyone's night! Hahaha!"
[Pause]
CONAN THE GHOUL: "Why did the chicken cross the road? Because it was running from YOU! Hahaha!"
[Daniel is shaking with laughter]
CONAN (deadpan): This is too close to real life.
[More laughter from the audience]
[The fight begins. Daniel plays as Batman and starts fighting Conan the Ghoul]
CONAN THE GHOUL (getting punched): "OW! That wasn't funny!"
[Conan takes the controller, button-mashing]
CONAN: I'm beating myself up! This is better than therapy!
[Batman lands a final punch. Conan the Ghoul collapses]
[Audience cheers]
[Cut back to Conan and Daniel after their gaming session]
CONAN: Well, that was Batman: Dark Reign. It's releasing on October 5th on PC, Xbox, and PS4.
[Conan pauses, looking at the camera]
CONAN: What can I say? You can be Batman and beat up me and Daniel if you want. I give the final rating of—
[Text appears on screen]
"I BEAT MYSELF UP AND IT FELT GOOD."
[Audience laughs and applauds]
CONAN: Daniel, thank you for being here.
DANIEL: Thanks for having me.
[Video ends]
.
.
You can read up to chapter 308
p.a.t.r.eon.com/Illusiveone (check the chapter summary i have it there as well)