In a landmark speech, then-Senator Kelly revealed the presence of mutants to the population at large. Before that time, they had been a thing of urban legend, with growing knowledge especially in NYC where they had started to congregate. The Senator's speech, however, brought not only their existence, but the threat that they presented, into every living room in the country - and beyond. Over the years, distrust would only continue to grow, especially thanks to a biased media and constant exposure by Kelly of any mutant "wrongs". In 2004, he would use this unrest to launch a successful campaign for President, built upon a platform of stricter standards for mutants. Two years into his presidency, in 2006, the Mutant Registration Act was introduced as a voluntary measure. Mutants who were doing no wrong, it was put forward, should have no reason not to register themselves and their powers with the government. It saw only limited participation, and the continued political unrest in the mutant community gave Kelly the grounds to base his re-election campaign on making the MRA mandatory. He won, and in 2008, registration became an enforceable fact of life for every mutant in the United States.
Still, there were many who chose to hide their mutation, and of course, a fair number of those who would use their powers for ill instead of good. A terrorist cell, known as The Brotherhood started causing havoc, especially in Manhattan. They demanded the MRA be revoked, and their protests started to rack up a body count of non-mutants. This led to a growing anti-mutant sentiment, and the MRA only became more restrictive. In 2010, there were so many mutant "criminals" being rounded up, Rykers Island was cleared of all but its most dangerous cases, with the rest of the jail being turned into a mutant containment facility. Even with the additional space, crowding would become an issue, for in 2012, the government revealed the Sentinel Project. The main thrust of this project was to unleash large mutant-hunting robots upon Manhattan, where the worst of the mutant menace made its home. These robots, the government claimed, dealt only with the criminal element. In truth, a great number of mutants were sent to Rykers simply because of their DNA. As many of them would be killed in the fray.
For two years, the mutants of Manhattan lived in terror. Many tried to flee the city, but Sentinels patrolled the bridges and tunnels off the island. Pushed to the brink, the Brotherhood struck back in 2014. A handful of Sentinels, once felled in battle, had been rebuilt and reprogrammed by the techs at the Brotherhood. Instead of hunting only mutants, they were now set to hunt and kill only humans, leaving homo superior alone. These reprogrammed Sentinels were used to break into Rykers, freeing all the criminals, and taking over the island jail. Dangerous criminals were unleashed on Manhattan, putting the city under a siege of a different sort, while mutants still lived in constant fear of the Sentinel menace and anti-mutant gangs.
Curiously, little was heard from the Brotherhood for the next year, and many of the mutants who had been contained in Rykers did not come out. In early 2015, the Brotherhood would surface once again. Rykers was thrown open, welcoming all mutants into this sanctuary. The island jail had been converted into the first mutant-only town. The reprogrammed Sentinels stand guard, giving free passage in and out to those with the X-gene. Homo sapiens are wise not to venture too close, however, or they may never be seen again.
